Kindaichi's police adventure
by Rangerfan58
Summary: full summary is inside but basically friends have been lost for a few years, but now an old enemy has come back, where will that lead Kindaichi? profile explains how I choose to rate things and as always I need to know if you feel I need to up the rating
1. Chapter 1

_What you recognize I don't own. Texts will be in asterisks. It's been two years since Akechi and Kenmochi were killed in the line of duty, since that day Kindaichi knew that to honor their memories he would join the police as soon as he graduated high school, as soon as he joined he learned that what had happened the day the two died wasn't an accident but murder plain and simple and as such whenever possible he's been looking into who would murder the two officers and why but so far he hasn't gotten very far in his investigations which frustrates him to no ends since he was friends with Kenmochi and at least respected Akechi. But now after two years he's about to learn that his problems are bigger than someone blocking his investigation deliberately, Takato Yoichi escaped prison and is acting as the Puppeteer from Hell once more and due to the fact that very few in the force actually know about him that means that many lives are in danger of being falsely accused of crimes they didn't commit (Detective Li in Hong Kong knows what to look for after the incident with Kindaichi being thought a killer via hypnosis and a few officers that worked with Akechi and Kenmochi regularly also know what to look for but unfortunately that still leaves very few allies for Kindaichi). What all is in store for Kindaichi now, and who or what moves in the shadows besides the puppeteer? Oh and no honorifics since while it's written in English it's understood that they are speaking Japanese though I do use Kindaichi's favorite nickname for Kenmochi which will not be translated, and certain phone conversations will be fully written out depending on need. Any English spoken will be in bold and when speaking English titles will be used, also if it is a language that is NOT Japanese or English it will be italicized _

A person stood in front of two graves with flowers which they put in front of both of them

"Two years huh? I'm sorry that I've failed at finding out who killed you guys so far, as it is I sometimes have a hard time believing it's already been so long since we lost you two"

Suddenly the phone rings and the person answers it

"Kindaichi here go ahead...on my way I should be there within fifteen minutes" (hangs up) "I'll be back later ossan, Akechi"

And so Kindaichi Hajime left the graves of Akechi Kengo and Kenmochi Isamu to handle the case he was given which was naturally a murder case (he had been put into the department that handled murders almost immediately out of the academy, though he wasn't a detective yet and more a uniformed police officer the detectives allowed him to help like he always had). Fifteen minutes later he was a the scene of the crime and discovered that solving the mystery wouldn't be so easy

"Hm...this is going to take a while"

"Even for you?"

"Yeah...not only because of the fact that I wasn't here when it happened but also...I think some of the clues have disappeared and it will be hard to find them again"

And so the group begins the investigation and once all the clues are gathered they head back to the station so as to try and get some kind of lead for what's going on and while on the way to the station one of the officers speaks up

"By the way I apologize for interrupting your time with those two today"

"It's okay, it happens"

"But today is..."

"We're officers Komachi, as such it isn't so surprising that I was interrupted, at least I had enough time to leave offerings and I can always go back later"

"I guess"

"Anyways we have a murder to solve"

Three days later and everyone was frustrated with the lack of any progress on the case when suddenly Kindaichi's phone rang

"Officer Kindaichi speaking how can I help you?"

"It's been a while Kindaichi"

"Do I know you?"

"Certainly you haven't forgotten about me? I am after all the one person you could never forgive and made your life interesting for a while, how about a hint, do you remember an incident in Hong Kong where the Count of Monte Cristo was active?"

"YOU!"

"Yes me, well then catch me if you can Kindaichi, after all you're already behind on the game"

"Wait then that means..."

"Yes, however you know how I work and as such you know there's someone out there, see you later"

The phone call ends and Kindaichi _nearly_ slams the phone down however he manages enough self control not to, however he knew he was being stared at due to his one outburst

"Kindaichi who was that?"

"Some of you will not be able to understand this initially but all I have to say is this, apparently _he's baaack_, and also up to his old tricks"

"He?...wait you don't mean..."

"Yeah I do"

"What will you do Kindaichi?"

"The only thing I can do, chase him down with whatever leads I can find, but first I have a phone call I am going to _hate_ just as much as the phone call from a year ago, but you know now that I know about _him_ I think I know why we haven't found the murderer of Akechi and ossan"

"Wait you don't mean..."

"Yes I do"

"Who are you guys talking about?"

"You're about to find out"

Kindaichi dials a number and then simply waits for an answer and fortunately gets it

"Hello?"

"Detective Li, it's Kindaichi"

"Kindaichi, what are you doing calling me?"

"I just got a phone call and you're not going to like who was on the other line"

"Oh?"

"It looks like Hell's Puppeteer Takato Yoichi has escaped prison and is active once more"

"Say...WHAT?!"

"Yeah, he just called and said that he's pulling the strings behind my most recent case, I also think now that he's the one who's been blocking my investigation into the murder of Akechi and ossan"

"I see...I'll be on the lookout for him then, by the way I might have finally gotten a lead regarding the murder of those two"

"Oh?"

"Yes, I'm heading to Japan in person to talk since I don't trust the phones right now, even this conversation is dangerous"

"I know, but unfortunately..."

"Yeah unfortunately, I'll be by in a few hours I have a few leads for a case of my own to follow first"

"Right, hopefully this new information might be of use to you"

"Doesn't seem like his style though, but I'll be on the lookout now that I know, did you trace the call?"

"No point"

"True"

The phone call ends and he looks up to see officers staring at him once again, but this time it's more in confusion than anything since the rest of the officers ignored the phone call seeing as how they already knew about Takato Yoichi


	2. Chapter 2

"Um...who's Takato Yoichi and why do you call him Hell's puppeteer?"

"The name I call him is his own name that he gave himself, as for how he is...he's a manipulative person, he gives people who want revenge the opportunity so long as they follow his plans, then again he basically entices people to murder and calls it an art, I've been up against him several times and thought he was in prison, but I guess he's managed to escape which means he has a chance to do murder once again"

"And you think he's behind..."

"The blocking that I've received, and maybe even the deaths of Akechi and ossan? I do indeed believe that to be the case, in any case I have paperwork to push through so that if needed Detective Li can use his gun in Japan"

"In any case, let's get back to work everyone...but why would Detective Li need permission for his weapon if he's not going to be here for very long?"

"Hm...I think I'll let you guys try and figure that out, let's just hope that the paperwork goes through in time, if not I'll let him know about not bringing the gun"

Five hours later Kindaichi receives the paperwork back and it stated that Detective Li had permission to have his weapon on him the entire time he was in Japan and was also allowed to use it at need and just then the phone rings again

"Kindaichi here go ahead"

"It's Li, I'm headed your way"

"Good, by the way you can bring your weapon with you, I'll have the paperwork stating you're allowed to carry it at the airport waiting for you"

"How did you..."

"I just did"

"Understood"

Two hours later and Kindaichi is waiting for Li at customs, which was a good thing since Li had his weapon with him and he was about to be stopped

"Whoa, wait a minute Detective Li has permission for his weapon, here's the form that says so"

Kindaichi hands security and customs the form and once it's verified Li passes through customs smoothly

"It's been a while Kindaichi"

"Indeed it has, before we go back to the station do you want to..."

"Yes I do"

And so Kindaichi takes Li to the graves of Akechi and Kenmochi

"It's sometimes hard to believe that it's been two years since I first found out about them"

"I know, sometimes it's hard for me to believe they've been gone for two years, by the way about the current case you're working on and what I told you"

"Turns out not related, I solved the case an hour before I caught my flight, the rest of my men are dealing with the paperwork right now"

"I see"

The two simply stand there in silence for several minutes and then Kindaichi speaks up once more

"Come on, we should talk about what you said over the phone, besides that my boss might be getting worried by now"

"You have a point there, I keep forgetting that you're actually a uniformed officer and not a detective with a little more leeway on your movements"

"I'm getting there...it's just going to take a little bit of time is all"

"I know, and you know that those two would be proud of you correct?"

"I keep hoping so"

The two head to the police station and Kindaichi was indeed yelled at for not returning with Li immediately, but that was primarily because of the fact that with Takato Yoichi free once more there was a good chance that Kindaichi was a target for death since what Kindaichi didn't know was that Takato Yoichi had vowed that while he would play the game with Kindaichi once more if free if the two ever met face to face Takato would do his best to kill Kindaichi

"I didn't know about the threat boss"

"And that is my fault, you should have been informed immediately, who is this?"

"This is Detective Li from Hong Kong...he knows about Takato Yoichi having seen him in action before, plus he told me he has a lead on a two year old case"

"I don't understand, what case?"

"The one case Kindaichi will never give up, the case regarding the deaths of Akechi Kengo and Kenmochi Isamu, as for what Kindaichi said about Takato Yoichi he's correct, I tried to arrest Kindaichi for murder, the murder of several people actually including Akechi, though it turned out that Akechi was alive and the person behind the murders was manipulated by Takato Yoichi"

"Yeah, that wasn't a fun time, in any case you said something about a lead"

"Yes, now then you must understand that this lead may be a false lead since it's from an anonymous source but it's the best lead we've had in the last two years and is possibly only known due to the fact that I work in Hong Kong not Japan"

"That might indeed be the case, so what is the lead?"

"It's primarily pictures of the crime scene that day two years ago, pictures that I know for a fact you never saw Kindaichi because I looked at the photos of the time with you, there's also...well they can be considered very vague notes or threats depending on how one reads them"

And so the group looks at both the photos and the notes and concludes that they were indeed hints to the truth, however due to how much time had passed between the murder and the information getting to Li it meant that a few of the vague notes that they managed to figure out were now meaningless due to various factors

"Sorry about this"

"No, it's good to see these photos and notes because they're not _entirely_ useless, would have been more helpful two years ago but..." (sighs) "I guess it's pointless to think on the what ifs now, still a few of these pictures and notes might still be relevant...say Li want to stay a while longer"

"But I..."

"I know you have a job back in Hong Kong but still...I think you might be of use here as well, especially as we try and figure out which of these leads are still viable and which ones aren't"

"Except I don't know Japan like you do"

"Just...just for a few days at least Li, please?"

"Alright Kindaichi, I'll stay for a few days for your sake because I know that's why you're asking"

"Thanks Li...you can stay with me at my place"

"I've already booked a hotel but thanks for offering"

Suddenly Kindaichi's phone beeped and on it was a text message

*Case at Tokyo tower, need your input*

"I have to go, there's something going on that someone wants my help with"

"Li, if you want you can go with Kindaichi to assist, I'm sure that while it probably doesn't have anything to do with Takato Yoichi it would probably be good for you to see how we do things here"

"What I don't get is why they didn't simply call you"

"Probably couldn't for whatever reason"

And so the two head to the tower and it turned out to be a simple case that was solved within three hours of Kindaichi coming onto the scene, though part of what helped was that everyone at the tower at the time was kept there to be questioned. Li would ultimately stay for two weeks, helping the Japanese police solve the case that involved Takato Yoichi though he himself ultimately got away once more plus he managed to revive the leads he had brought with him a little bit, giving the group fresher leads that they could follow up on themselves, but finally he could delay his return no longer and so Kindaichi would escort him to the airport


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know exactly when but I'll make sure to come to Hong Kong soon, we should have never let the separation that happened between us happen, even if we're in different countries we should have remained in contact"

"I agree, we're united by tragedy...I'll keep an eye out for more of Takato Yoichi's tricks in Hong Kong"

"And I'll keep an eye out for him here in Japan, oh and don't forget this"

Kindaichi hands Li a very special piece of paper, one that not even Kindaichi was aware would be given to Li because while Kindaichi had been blocked in the investigation in regards to the deaths of his mentors it wasn't because the government was completely under Takato's control (though there were two of them involved that he had under his control they weren't the highest in rank) it was to give Kindaichi time to adjust to the force and the chance to gather allies against Takato and any other criminal that might take advantage of the loss. As such when they found out that Kindaichi had personally known Li and trusted him they decided to make things a little easier for Kindaichi's Hong Kong ally despite knowing the fact that he wouldn't be able to come over to Japan very often, and gave him a very important piece of paper, it was a special form that said he was permanently authorized to bring and use his weapon in Japan whenever he was in Japan on any sort of business, even after the deaths of Akechi and Kenmochi were solved

"What is it?"

"Don't know I was simply told to make sure to hand this to you sealed at the airport, it's up to you to decide when to open it, but you should know the paper I gave you lasts until you arrive back in Hong Kong so you won't have trouble getting through customs this time around"

Li decides to open the envelope in front of Kindaichi _because_ they were friends and his shocked gasp lets Kindaichi know that it was something big

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing...this...this is...to think that the government would...look"

Kindaichi looks at it and is suitably shocked to see the permanent permission form that had been given to Li

"You're right in being shocked, I'm just as shocked, all I knew was that they wanted me to give you this, I never knew that what the enveloped contained was..."

"Yeah, looks like I'll never have problems at customs again so long as I keep this on me"

"Looks like"

"Well I'd best get going"

"Right, you still have to get through customs even if that makes things a little easier"

And so Kindaichi stays until he knows that Li's flight has taken off and then heads back to the office to find several government officials there since they kind of figured Li would show Kindaichi the surprise paperwork

"Hello sirs"

"So...did you see what we gave Li?"

"You mean the paperwork that makes his gun legal in Japan permanently?"

"He showed it to you alright, now then we don't expect China or Hong Kong to reciprocate however seeing as how he knows about Takato Yoichi having that permission should make things easier on him if he's ever chasing a lead from Hong Kong to Japan or vice versa if he's helping us with the Kenmochi and Akechi case in Japan and has a lead that takes him back home to Hong Kong"

"Indeed, and while he was here he did discuss having me have the same level of privilege that you secretly gave him but I said I don't want the ability to use my gun when in Hong Kong"

"What?...but..."

"When I'm in Hong Kong I don't want to act as a police officer if I can help it, I'll carry my ID on me so that if something comes up they know that I can help with the investigation, and they can issue me their own side arm if they want, but I want to enter and exit Hong Kong without any weapons but my mind, besides that I hope I only ever visit Hong Kong for vacation and happen to come across Li, or spend time off that he has with him at the same time as friends"

"I see, but still..."

"No, he won't go against my wishes Li knows me quite well after a few incidents that we worked together on, but I'm glad he'll have an easier time working in Japan from now on"

"Understood, by the way you guys have a few days off after this last case, plus, there's no more Takato Yoichi influence hindering your investigation"

"Wait, you knew about..."

"Yes, speaking of we need to discuss with you Kindaichi about _why_ we blocked your investigation as much as we did after you joined the force and realized that your two officer friends were murdered instead of killed in an accident"

"Not right now...right now even though it's not the anniversary anymore..."

"We understand, go"

And so Kindaichi heads to the graves of Akechi and Kenmochi once more and simply thinks back to when he first found out about their deaths

_Just over two years earlier_

Kindaichi and Miyuki were leaving their school when they saw a police car in front of the gate, and while they didn't immediately recognize the officer they knew immediately that the officer was waiting for Kindaichi at the very least

"What is it officer?"

"Not here, I'm to give you a ride Kindaichi Hajime to the station and you're welcome to join him Nanase Miyuki, actually I think it's best you both hear it at the same time"

"Hear what?"

"Again not here, as it is...well let's just say that the news media isn't very happy with us at the moment but we gave them explicit instructions not to release the news until we ourselves gave them permission"

Suddenly Kindaichi and Miyuki get _very_ scared at what was happening because through association with Akechi and Kenmochi they knew that the police did not with hold anything from the public except in_ very_ specific situations such as if a minor was involved and the family needed to be informed first, they also closed ranks and kept the news from finding out if something happened to one of their own and there were specific instructions left behind in the event of their death that had to be followed before death was confirmed to the public if said public wasn't there and if they _were_ the police tended to be aggressive in their protection and keep everyone at the scene from making any reports on social media until after the official news media released the information themselves

"Hajime, I don't like this"

"Neither do I Miyuki, neither do I"

Ten minutes later and the two are led into the section of the station that Akechi and Kenmochi worked in

"Kindaichi, Nanase...we regret to inform you that earlier today Detective Kenmochi and Superintendent Akechi were killed in an accident on their way to an incident"

"Akechi and ossan are...I don't believe you!"

(Sighs) "follow me"

The two are lead to the morgue where Akechi and Kenmochi were currently being kept and once Kindaichi sees their faces and tries for a pulse he can no longer deny the fact that the two officers he knew and trusted the most were dead. Once the two were back in the office they were given further details on the accident and the case that they were supposed to be heading to, but Kindaichi and Miyuki didn't really hear anything due to shock, fortunately the officers expected as much and thus recorded what they were saying after showing the two the bodies of their police friends

"I think it best that the two of you are escorted home before we officially release the news about their deaths, we don't want the two of you caught up in that mess that's to come once the news is out"

And so the two are taken home and not even two hours later the news is officially out that Akechi and Kenmochi were killed in the line of duty in an accident responding to another incident. Meanwhile Kindaichi and Miyuki were in a fugue like state for the next two weeks (the teachers were actually starting to get a little concerned that neither of them were acting themselves and were actually falling even _further_ behind then normal) when suddenly they would both be snapped out of it by someone they weren't expecting, they were both getting out of school when suddenly a very angry person comes up to them with a newspaper dated two weeks ago forced in front of their faces, granted it was in Chinese since the paper in question was being held by one Detective Li from Hong Kong, but it was still a newspaper dated two weeks ago

"Kindaichi, want to tell me what this _farce_ of a newspaper clipping is about?"

Kindaichi and Miyuki having deliberately in a way forgotten to read any news for the past two weeks so as to avoid reading about the deaths of their police friends or even when the funeral was were suddenly confronted once more with the truth that they knew and couldn't handle, but now they were _forced _to confront that fact for the sake of another person who knew the two officers and Li could see on their faces that what he was about to hear he wouldn't like one bit, and through his training he could also tell that the way he had found them was their current state of normal and he was forcing them out of said state

"It's no lie Detective Li, Akechi and ossan are dead...d...dead"

"We...didn't...couldn't...we weren't even there for their funerals...we..."

Suddenly Miyuki and Kindaichi are both on the ground crying the tears that they hadn't let themselves cry since the day they heard the news and while Li comforted the two of them as best as he could the two were unknowingly breaking free from the fog that had enveloped them since the day they found out that Akechi and Kenmochi were dead. While the two simply finally began the mourning process Li did his best to protect them from well meaning classmates and teachers. Once the two had used up their current tears all three of them went to the station to ask where Kenmochi and Akechi were buried and were easily taken there, and once there Li began his own mourning because while he hadn't been in the fugue like state like Kindaichi and Miyuki he had been refusing to believe the news story of the deaths of two officers that he knew to a certain degree until it could be confirmed by the one person that knew the two of them personally

"Good bye Akechi, ossan, you'll be missed"

Kindaichi and Miyuki leave the location first knowing that as a fellow police officer Li would probably have things to tell the two deceased officers in private, plus while they had been in a fugue like state and hadn't managed to attend the funeral they also knew that they would have plenty of chances to talk to the two while Li would probably never get such a chance again, or if he did it would be a long time before he would be able to return to Japan

"It's hard to believe that the two of you were killed in a simple _accident_, however there isn't much to refute such a claim and as such I have no choice but to believe it for now, however understand this, I promise to look out for Kindaichi as much as I can from Hong Kong, and will guide him as best as I can from Hong Kong as well should he choose a career as a police officer. I also vow that if we _ever_ find information leading to your accident actually being a murder we'll do our best to catch the ones who killed you and bring them to justice"

Two hours later he finds a ride with an officer called Tadano who worked with Akechi and Kenmochi on occasion

"The higher ups assigned me as your escort while you're in country"

"I see...forgive me if this is rude, but...did you ever work with Kenmochi and Akechi?"

"On occasion yes"

"I see...tell me more about them?"

"Sure"

Three days later and Li is forced to return to Hong Kong for work. A year later his world is completely shattered when Kindaichi calls him and explains that he managed to become a police officer and discovered that Akechi and Kenmochi didn't die in an accident but were murdered, he basically blamed himself for not coming to Japan sooner (not that he could have due to a case of his own that forced him to temporarily disappear for a week only a day after the news regarding their deaths broke out) and beginning his own investigation into their deaths, or at the very least started something when he _had _finally gotten to Japan, even if just to confirm for himself that it was an accident like it stated in the news

"Kindaichi, I can come if you want"

"No, it's been too long since their deaths and besides, you already told me that you have a major case on your hands yourself right now, just...look if you hear anything about what happened to those two let me know and we'll make plans from there, in the meantime stay where you belong unless you have to leave for work"

"Understood"

And with that he kept working in Hong Kong when he suddenly got the lead that would take him back to Japan for the first time in two years

"This is...looks like once I take care of the leads for my own case I'm heading back to Japan, but first I think I need to make a phone call"

Suddenly the phone would ring and when he answered it was Kindaichi on the other line giving him the news that Takato Yoichi had escaped prison. Once he was done with the phone call everyone could tell that he wasn't very happy but he quickly went into professional mode and as such no one said anything, though they were surprised when after making his arrests he made arrangements to head to Japan immediately, he also confused them with the box he carefully packed away

_Present_


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey you two...we may finally have the chance we've been waiting for to catch your murderers, though since it's been two years since that day it isn't going to be easy but fresh leads are fresh leads, Takato Yoichi is free by the way, don't worry I won't let the chance to solve your murder get in the way of catching him again and putting him behind bars where he belongs"

Kindaichi then catches the two of them up on what he'd been up to until Li showed up and then explained that Li was now able to use his weapon whenever in Japan which was a good thing in Kindaichi's mind, he also said that he hoped to visit Li some time soon but would have to wait just a little bit longer before then

"Well I have a few days off still but I think it best I get going, after all you never know when vacation is canceled due to a case"

Ultimately their vacation was honored completely and then it was back to work not only trying to find Takato Yoichi but also to follow up the new leads regarding the death of Akechi and Kenmochi

"So...regarding Takato Yoichi anyways anything you can give us as a hint Kindaichi?"

"Unfortunately no, he's one of my trickiest enemies who keeps coming back even when I think he's been defeated...or dead, he'll sometimes call me to let me know of his involvement and other times it's a bit more obvious that he's involved but don't count on that being the normal case"

"Okay then, so about the Kenmochi and Akechi situation..."

"We have leads we should follow up and hopefully they'll lead to even fresher leads than what we currently have

"Still for an officer from Hong Kong to be the one who..."

"Look someone sent him the information he gave us and he doesn't know why, but he mentioned he would be looking into it when he went back"

The group would be called out for another case but this time it turned out to be an extremely easy case once all their alibies had been heard

"So...that was too easy"

"I know, but for now..."

Suddenly the phone rings

"This is Tadano go ahead...I see...okay I'll let him know...bye"

Tadano hangs up and turns to Kindaichi

"That was Detective Li from Hong Kong, apparently someone named Itsuki has been arrested and is saying that he won't talk to local police unless you personally are there"

"Okay, I'll let the boss know and leave my weapon behind and head over there"

Three hours later and Kindaichi is in Hong Kong being met by Li

"Hey Li, so what exactly has Itsuki been arrested for?"

"Attempted murder, fortunately the victim is going to survive however..."

"Let me guess he was the only person there at the estimated time and something he did seemed off to most all the police including possibly you"

"Exactly, though once I knew he was a freelance journalist what he was doing wasn't so suspicious to me but the higher ups..."

"Got it, let's go and figure this thing out then, I just hope..."

"Yeah I have that same hope, dealing with Hell's Puppeteer once was enough for me"

And so Kindaichi is led to where Itsuki was

"Hey Itsuki"

"Kindaichi, I didn't do it"

"Just tell me what happened Itsuki and I'll do my best to help Li here prove your innocence"

And so Itsuki explains his actions before being found by the police and Li and Kindaichi begin their investigation

"Hm...Kindaichi look here"

Kindaichi heads to the area that Li was at and then sighs

"Either there's an impostor or for whatever reason Takato is here"

"Oh great"

"I know, he's annoying to deal with but if it _is _him..."

"We have our work cut out for us"

"Exactly"

It took them an entire week but finally they not only proved Itsuki innocent of attempted murder but also discovered that Takato wasn't involved in the case after all, it was someone who had admired him for whatever twisted reason in their minds

"Well I guess it's time for me to go back to Japan"

"Guess so, but first to release Itsuki officially"

"Right"

Suddenly Kindaichi's phone rings

"Hello?...yes...yes...we're heading there now to officially release Itsuki...no it wasn't him this time...I see...okay...that's...thank you sir...bye"

"Kindaichi?"

"Looks like I'm staying just a little bit longer than expected, boss is giving me a sudden vacation here in Hong Kong to spend a little bit of time with you whenever you're not at work yourself"

"What for?"

"That's the thing I don't know their reason because I never asked for a vacation since I don't really have any vacation time available"

What Kindaichi didn't know is that the higher ups knew about Li, knew that he was a known ally to Kindaichi and also Kenmochi and Akechi having worked with them a couple of times since the incident with Takato Yoichi and also knew that Li and Kindaichi had never really had the chance to be together during the anniversary and while the actual anniversary of Akechi's and Kenmochi's deaths were more than two weeks previous they still felt it was an important time for the two of them to be together seeing as how while Li _had _been in Japan soon after the anniversary that was completely business related and as such there was no time to simply _be_ together and remember their loss. During the week that Kindaichi was there Li and Kindaichi did exactly what Kindaichi's superiors wanted which was to simply talk about their memories of the two officers and not talk like they were a case to them, that they only had professional interest in solving their deaths, to simply...to simply _remember_ them as friends and also continue the mourning process that they had never really given themselves time to fully go through (it had been so bad with Li that he was almost forced into getting professional help and temporarily suspended until cleared by therapists, and Kindaichi hadn't been far behind him especially when he found out that Akechi and Kenmochi had actually been murdered instead of killed in an accident) but finally the week was over and Kindaichi returned home

"See you around Kindaichi, I think it best that we start calling each other once a week though, we needed this time"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, simply keep tabs on each other...oh you should know that when I return I plan on getting paperwork together that will ensure that you find out first if anything happens to me, even if it has to be over the phone or through your superiors"

"I already did the same for you so I understand"

"When did you do that Li?"

"The day I got home after..."

"After you confirmed their death, so just under two years huh?"

"Yes"

"I see...I'm glad it hasn't been needed"

"Same here"

Kindaichi's flight is called and he leaves back to Japan and just in time too because the first of the next several crimes involving Takato Yoichi were underway while he was in the air and not even two weeks later one of the officers lets out an aggravated sigh of frustration

"Okay, I'm getting annoyed now"

"Oh, starting to realize just how frustrating dealing with Takato is huh?"

"Yes, he doesn't commit the crimes himself though he plans them out, and he's so slippery that we can't even catch him when he _does_ make an appearance"

"By the way Kindaichi why haven't you made detective yet anyways?"

"Yeah, you're good enough by now surely"

"I'm getting there, it's just slow going for various reasons is all"

Suddenly though their superiors came into the office and called Kindaichi out and was told that even though he had yet to actually take and pass the detective test he was being promoted to detective temporarily while the test was scheduled for him to take. Everyone there knew he would pass not only because of his high IQ, but also because of the fact that after Akechi and Kenmochi died Kindaichi had taken everything much more seriously in regards to school and then once he joined the force he _terrified_ teachers in regards to how smart and focused he was in becoming a police officer, he scared even more people when he switched to the department Akechi and Kenmochi worked in and started solving cases within a day, sometimes two, and some of those cases had been active for weeks to months by then with leads becoming more and more cold


	5. Chapter 5

"Now then if you fail the test you will not be fully promoted to detective but...I must admit you're smart enough for such a title"

"I'll study and pass the test no problem, in the meantime though I think there's a new lead on the Akechi and Kenmochi case that I want to check on first"

"Of course, and we won't disturb you while you study for the detective test, in fact you're off work until after the test is done...this is standard for us Kindaichi and it's paid leave by the way"

"Understood sir"

The lead ultimately fizzles out but not because it was a bad lead but because of the fact that while what had been discovered had been the truth the evidence had ultimately been too contaminated to give Kindaichi clues as to where the lead was supposed to take them or give the police an idea if Takato Yoichi was involved in their deaths or not, or even give any kind of suspects. Once that was done Kindaichi spent the next month and a half studying for the detective test and after all was said and done Kindaichi wasn't sure if he had actually passed or not due to the fact that even for him and all his studying several of the questions were hard for him to answer for the plain reason that he was still pretty much a rookie on the police force and hadn't encountered some of the scenarios on the test

"So...how was it?"

"Not sure to be honest, there's a chance I failed"

"Even though we know for a fact that you studied so hard?"

"Yeah, some of the questions are geared for more experienced officers"

"Guess we'll simply have to wait and see then huh?"

"Exactly"

Two days later and Kindaichi would find out that he managed to pass the test and was officially a detective, unfortunately that day was also a day that nearly turned into more tragedy for him

"This is Kindaichi...Li is?!...I see...right...right...okay...thanks...bye"

He hangs up the phone and everyone could tell that he was in shock and upset

"What's wrong Kindaichi?"

"I have to go to Hong Kong immediately"

"What for?"

"Detective Li is...he's been shot and is considered in critical condition, the doctors...they aren't sure of his survival, I have to go, I have to be there in case..."

"Of course, there will be a flight available to you by the time you reach the airport"

"Thanks"

An hour later and Kindaichi is halfway to Hong Kong

"Please Li...be alive when I get there, keep fighting...I can't loose you too"

As soon as the plane lands and he's through customs he sees a sign with his name on it and instantly knows that it's an officer escorting him to the hospital that Li was currently at (the officer was one of the few that he knew Li had taught Japanese to so that Kindaichi could communicate with _someone_ if Li was unavailable for whatever reason not knowing that Kindaichi had worked to master English as well as possible in the short time before joining the police force and since)

"Do you have any news?"

"Last I heard fifteen minutes ago was that he was still in surgery"

"That's...that's something at least, it means that as of fifteen minutes ago he was still alive so that's good to hear"

Once at the hospital Kindaichi is forced to wait five more hours before Li is wheeled out of surgery and after one of the doctor's talks to Li's superior Li's superior goes over to Kindaichi

"The doctor says that he's still in critical condition but surviving the surgery is a good start, to be honest they honestly thought they lost him for a few moments during the surgery but they got him back, as such they're currently taking things hour by hour due to how stable he currently is. Unfortunately no one can visit him while he's in the ICU, at least not until he regains consciousness, and not even I can change the doctors minds on that"

"I see...I guess all I can do now is arrange for a hotel and let my job know that I'm going to be staying until we have further news about Li"

And so Kindaichi first calls his job about the fact that Li was currently in critical condition and that he had yet to see him and was instantly given the time off he would need for that and then arranged for a hotel visit very thankful that he had a couple of days worth of clothes with him already and knowing that as soon as he called Miyuki she would be sending him more clothes, either that or bringing enough clothes for both of them to last a week or two herself. Once everything was arranged as best he could all that was left was the waiting for word that Li had either woken up...or died from his injuries

"What happened anyways?"

"We're not entirely sure ourselves, apparently Li was following up on a lead for one of his cases when chaos broke out, Li was shot many times, but according to a few eyewitnesses two people who they didn't know and we can't identify through pictures pulled Li from the kill zone and did what they could to keep Li alive until an ambulance arrived, according to the paramedics they didn't leave any information that would allow us to identify them either"

"I see, guess I'll be unable to thank them then"

"By the way, what about that investigation Li mentioned?, the one involving two deceased officers"

"It's going painfully slow, some of the leads pan out to a degree and then the trail ends cold and then other leads don't go any where's and we're left at square one again"

"I see, by the way I have a question, why does he keep asking certain suspects if someone planned the murders they carry out?"

"Ah, he's on the lookout for a specific criminal that he's familiar with and I'm guessing those murders are so meticulous that they reek of that person"

"Why won't he let us help him in that case?"

"It's...complicated, anyways if...if we lose Li I will let you in on who the person Li is looking for is and also give you more information about the case involving the two deceased officers"

"Okay"

Two weeks later the doctors finally allowed people to visit Li, he was still unconscious but no longer considered to be in critical condition, instead he had been upgraded to serious. Miyuki had been unable to get leave from her job but she sent well wishes in a few cards

"Hey Li...Miyuki and I are hoping that you fully recover, actually we're simply hoping you wake up soon and are in good mental condition because...because the doctor's aren't sure of your mental state when you wake up, they say that you're lucky not to be in a coma, medically induced or otherwise, however that might be wrong and you might be in a coma since you...since you just won't wake up"

Eventually Kindaichi is forced to leave the hospital due to strict visiting policies for people in the ICU, what Kindaichi was unaware of was that Li actually _had_ been in a medically induced coma for an entire week just so that his body had a chance at healing, but the doctor's stopped the drugs that kept him in a coma after only a week because they were worried that his condition was so serious he could slip into an actual coma. The next three days were a repeat of the first day that Li was allowed visitors but finally an hour before Kindaichi would be forced to leave Li would wake up and actually speak in a very low and hoarse voice due to the fact that the breathing tube had only been taken out an hour earlier

"Kin...dai...chi?"

(Gasps) "Li...you're awake...let me go get the doctor"

Ultimately Kindaichi would be kicked out for the rest of the day, but he passed on to Li's coworkers that Li had woken up and _spoken_ to him, had known and recognized him. The next day the doctors confirmed that Li was able to remember pretty much everything up to two days before he had been shot but that wasn't a big concern to anyone in the medical field since they knew this was such a possibility


	6. Chapter 6

"According to the doctors you're going to be stuck here for a while longer, but you'll be allowed to do paperwork soon enough"

"I see...any leads on whoever helped keep me alive?"

"None"

"What about _your_ work?"

"I'll be heading back in a day or two now that you're better, I was given the time needed to confirm that you were going to be alright"

"How bad was it anyways?"

"You were hour by hour during the time you were declared to be in critical condition"

Two days later as predicted Kindaichi went back to Japan to continue his job

"So...are you sure that Li will be fine?"

"Yes, the doctors state that he's going to be stuck in the hospital for a bit because he _was_ shot in several places several times each, they're saying he's lucky he's not paralyzed, and there's a chance he'll be forced to take a desk job depending on how well he heals from his injuries but he's going to live"

"Have you heard about how saved his life?"

"Nope, no clues as to that, however it appears that what Li was doing there and our ongoing Kenmochi and Akechi death case are connected somehow, Li told his superiors about what he works on occasionally with what clues he gathers and asked that they cooperate with me for the moment since he's unable to leave the hospital, they'll continue their research into that connection there while we continue looking for clues here, they also know about Takato Yoichi"

"Oh?"

"Yeah...he tried to go after Li while Li was unconscious, didn't find _that_ out until I was at the airport and I have no clue if Li knows about the attempt on his life either"

"He's getting bold if he's doing his crimes himself"

"I know and I don't like the change in pattern one bit"

Life continued and soon enough it was the three year anniversary of the deaths of Akechi and Kenmochi, Li had been released from the hospital by that time but was on light duty since he had yet to regain full use of not only his left arm but also his right leg was problematic as well, stiffening in bad weather forcing him to use a crutch to get around, though he had also been told that if it gets to the point where the only issue was the occasional crutch use he would be allowed back in the field, just having others chase down criminals instead of him. In the meantime though his superiors had deliberately made sure he had time off that he had to use for the anniversary of the deaths of the two officers and also made sure he was actually in Japan on that day while Kindaichi's superiors made sure that he had that day off, as did Miyuki's superiors

"You know I think this year is easier than the last two"

"Yeah, probably helps that we're all together this year for the anniversary"

"Probably does"

"How are you anyways Li?"

"Getting there slowly, my leg will never be the same again I'm told but I think even now I can tell that there's improvement in my arm. As for emotionally regarding everything...I'm seeing someone to help me cope"

"I see, and you still haven't found out who helped save you have you?"

"No, they were basically like ghosts or shadows that appear at random and then disappear like they were never there"

"I see, any new leads regarding _him_?"

"No, I take it you don't either Kindaichi?"

"Not since that blatant attempt on my life two months ago"

"Oh yeah, my superiors told me about that, and also the attempt on _my _life while I was practically comatose"

"I see...by the way I'm heading to America soon"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, my superiors are amazed at how well I've been doing as a detective for a little under a year but they want me to get more training and that means America...just like Akechi"

"I see, which means you won't be easily reached anymore until your return"

"Exactly"

"How long Hajime?"

"Don't know yet Miyuki, I was told that it would be up to the Los Angeles police to determine how long I am overseas on training"

"I see...guess this means phone calls won't be ask frequent then"

"We'll find a way to make it work I promise, besides my boss told me he already explained certain things to the Los Angeles police"

"Kindaichi...what about the fact that you'll have to speak English?"

"Don't worry Li, when...when we lost Akechi and ossan I got serious in my studies and am now considered proficient in English, not as good as fluent but...let's face it part of the problem is the fact that there's terminology that they use that we don't and then part of the problem is that even with me studying as much as possible over the past four years English isn't the easiest language to learn and apparently even native speakers occasionally have trouble"

"I see, well hopefully we'll be able to figure out how to maintain contact on a regularly basis without having to worry about huge phone bills, though if the scenarios I suspect your bosses have already warned the Los Angeles police about come up you'll be on the first flight available back home"

"Most likely"

Six months later and Kindaichi is amazing his Los Angeles superiors in regards to his understanding of crimes and also how well he had taken to the training when his phone rang one day


	7. Chapter 7

"**This is detective Kindaichi speaking go ahead**"

"Kindaichi this is Chief Sakamoto, you remember us telling you about that lead we had two weeks ago regarding the deaths of Akechi and Kenmochi?"

Kindaichi immediately switches to his native Japanese not only for privacy reasons but also the fact that he knew his superior wasn't exactly the greatest at English

"Yes what of it?"

"Apparently the leads panned out and we have two suspects in connection to their deaths"

"What?!, you have suspects in regards to the deaths of Akechi and ossan?!"

"That is indeed what we suspect, we need you home for this"

"Of course, have you told Li yet?"

"No that is up to you"

"I understand, I'll let my LA superiors know about the situation"

"Best call Li first though since he's also connected to the case and will get here faster than you"

"Right"

Kindaichi hangs up with his superior and then phones a number he knew by heart

"Li? Kindaichi here...you need to go to Japan immediately...apparently suspects have been caught in the case of Akechi and ossan...right...I have to let my superiors here know about the change of plans and then book a flight for myself...right...okay...see you then...bye"

Kindaichi then completely hangs up the phone and sees that his LA comrades were curious as to what was going on but since they didn't speak Japanese they had no clue what the conversation was about, though they did catch the name Akechi a couple of times. Kindaichi then knocks on his bosses door and is given permission to enter

"**What is it detective Kindaichi?**"

"**I'm needed back in Japan immediately**"

"**What for?**"

"**Remember how it was explained that I had two different active cases back in Japan that I would have to leave LA immediately for?**"

"**Indeed I do, let me guess one or both of those cases came up**"

"**Exactly apparently suspects have been caught that have a connection to the deaths of Superintendent Akechi and Inspector Kenmochi both of Tokyo MPD homicide department**"

"**I understand, your training was coming to an end anyways so I guess this is as good a time as any for such a situation to come up**"

"**Thank you for understanding, I have a flight to arrange now so I will have to have someone else qualified finish up my paperwork, and yes I will sign off what I need to sign first before handing the rest of it over to someone else**"

"**No need seeing as how I will be the one finishing the paperwork on your most recent case, I'll explain the situation to the judge in a way that won't break confidentiality that you need for the two cases**"

"**Thank you**"

And so Kindaichi leaves the office and then makes arrangements to get back to Japan and by six that evening Kindaichi was in the air heading home

"Finally, four and a half years of waiting and hoping for this day and we might finally have closure, at least let's hope that what we were told is the truth, I don't know if...if I could handle this being a false lead once more"

Once his plane landed he was greeted by Li as promised and on the way to the police station is told that everything the suspects had told them had been verified which meant that they had finally caught the ones that had killed Akechi and Kenmochi

"Finally, after four and a half years of searching we can finally have some sort of justice"

"Exactly, this day has been a long time coming, and our evidence will help convict the two of them for their crime"

Three days later the two suspects got life in prison without the possibility of parole, this is due to the fact that while the criminals confessed to their crime and there was evidence to back up their claim, between how long it had been since the deaths of Akechi and Kenmochi, the fact that there were actually no bodies to bury due to the fact that the two also confessed to breaking into the police morgue and stealing the bodies for reasons known only to them and the fact that Kindaichi told the courts that Akechi and Kenmochi wouldn't want the two given the death penalty with Li backing him up meant that the harshest punishment the judge could give was a natural life sentence. Once the trial was over with Li and Kindaichi visited the graves of their fallen friends and comrades

"It's finally over you two, justice has been done in your deaths, Takato is still loose and I'm not completely convinced he isn't involved but...seeing as how he never actually does the crimes himself, or at least he never did until more recently he can't be put on trial for what happened to the two of you, even if we suspicion he was behind your deaths"

The two simply stand there for a few minutes and then get going with Li catching Kindaichi up on his own condition which was that except for the leg he was once again one hundred percent in regards to how his limbs functioned. The two head back to the station since Li wanted to check in with his boss first before heading back to Hong Kong just in case they needed to have him stay in Japan due to a prison transfer that wasn't completed yet or something

"By the way, when was the last time you were in Taiwan anyways?"

"It's been a while, shortly after you were cleared from suspicion of being a murderer and we found out that Takato Yoichi wasn't dead I was given a permanent assignment as liaison between Taiwan and Hong Kong since my Taiwanese superiors actually know about my past with Hong Kong, as such I go back to Taiwan _maybe_ once a year for a week or two, Hong Kong is actually considering asking my bosses to just release me from Taiwan police and have me become a Hong Kong officer instead since I come from Hong Kong and have been there for so long"

"I see, well in any case let's get to the station"

When they got there they found the station in chaos, complete and utter mess greeted them and as such they looked at each other and went straight to where Kindaichi worked most of the time

"Boss what's going on?"

"Bomb threat, remember how the pattern for Takato Yoichi has changed?"

"Yeah, don't like it either"

"Apparently he's the one threatening to bomb a couple of sites, it's all hands on deck for this one...Li I know that with your leg you can't chase criminals as well as before so I want to in control with me for this one, we'll both be directing the men, bomb squad is stretched to the limits because of this by the way so any bomb skills anyone has is being put to use"

Ultimately the bomb scare was the product of someone who admired Takato but wasn't actually him and was actually a Chinese national who lived in Hong Kong, but had fled a couple of years earlier for a crime committed in China

"Good thing you already have arrangements in regards to your weapons Li, he's ultimately your prisoner"

"Indeed it is a good thing, but he'll have to be dealt with here first since he committed crimes here as well"

"Guess you'll be traveling back and forth then"

"Guess so, by the way tell your boss that my leg may not be one hundred percent any more but if the weather is good I can still chase criminals with the best of them...I might need an ice pack afterwords or even my collapsible crutch but I can chase criminals for a while on good days"

"I'll let him know, but for now I think you'll be part of escort duty to and from the court and then of course on the way back to Hong Kong"

"No, like you said I'll be traveling back and forth between the two countries, I'm actually needed back in Hong Kong by tomorrow"

"I see"

The two are then called to the scene of a murder that wasn't actually a murder, or a suicide, instead it was a training scenario for several of the rookies and the two were called to observe and help them out if they got stuck, but the rookies needed to solve the case on their own. When one of the older members asked Kindaichi about Los Angeles he said that his superiors know the full story about what happened over there and what they needed from him still because it turned out that while his training was mainly completed the people in LA discovered that the judge wanted him to testify himself in his last case plus there was some new technology they felt he needed to be aware of just in case he encountered it in Japan since they already knew that Japan had yet to see the technology. As such Kindaichi went back to America for three weeks and then was completely done with his training in the US. Li in the meantime did indeed go back and forth between China and Japan and both countries were grateful that Li had permission to use his weapon in country because it was sometimes needed


	8. Chapter 8

"So...how are things regarding the person who bomb threatened us?"

"He's finally being extradited to China"

"That's good to hear"

Suddenly Li's phone rang

"Li here...what?...I see...no it's better for both of us to be there...he's with me right now I'll tell him...I understand...bye"

He hangs up

"Kindaichi, you're needed in China with your weapon, apparently both of us are needed to confirm the identity of someone who only wants to talk to us, though my superiors have their suspicions about who the person is, however even if they aren't who they suspect it is you will still have to arrest the person and as such there's going to be a permit waiting for you at the airport for you to have your gun on you"

"Do my superiors know about this?"

"They called your bosses first, so yes they know that you need to get on the first available flight with me"

"Let me pack some things first just in case we have a bit of a stay"

Two days later and they were on their way to China and of course a mystery would have to happen while they were on board escorting the prisoner

"Yours or mine Kindaichi?"

"Yours Li, I'll keep an eye on the prisoner and if you have trouble..."

"I know"

Ultimately the plane would be held on the runway seeing as how they hadn't solved the case by then, but since there were other police officers they finished escorting the prisoner to prison while Li and Kindaichi worked for three hours to solve the case but finally Kindaichi uttered his infamous phrase

"All the mysteries have been solved"

And so with Li also providing information the two proved who had committed the crime and that person was also arrested

"Now then, I do believe we have someone to see in the hospital"

"Yeah, by the way did your bosses specify exactly _who_ they suspect the person is?"

"Yeah, Takato Yoichi, they infer that because of specific names the person mentioned, one was you, one was me and the other two..."

"Akechi and ossan?"

"Yes, though of course they said Kenmochi by name and not your nickname"

"Did they check for a mask?"

"Not sure to be honest, but according to the hospital their condition isn't the greatest at the moment even if they are conscious and talking and part of that was the fact that they were practically dragged out of the Shing Mun half dead"

And so the two head to the hospital the person was staying at and as soon as they saw the person who was refusing to speak to anyone but them they both got very, very angry, though it was more obvious with Kindaichi then it was with Li in regards to their anger

"Doctor, did you check for a face mask?"

"No, why?"

"Trust me that check is needed, we'll do it in front of you doctors so that no one can claim we harmed the patient doing this procedure but it needs to be done"  
The two walk in and the person in the bed who was on oxygen could tell instantly that they weren't happy with what they were seeing

"Li, Kindaichi..."

"_Be quiet _for now, once we know that there's no mask _then_ you'll be allowed to talk, now then according to the doctors you only just got off ventilation and still need the oxygen you're on, as such we're going to make this as quick as we possibly can with what we're about to do and you'll be changed to a face mask for the procedure and if you put the face mask up we'll stop so that you can catch your breath, do you understand?"

The person nods and takes off the oxygen nostrils once he's given the signal that Li was ready to take off the face mask if there was one and it was quickly confirmed that it was the person's actual face and thus the person put themselves back on oxygen immediately

"How...how is this possible?"

"That's a little confusing to me as well Kindaichi"

"Ossan...Miyuki and I _saw_ your bodies, your officers confirmed your deaths, we had a funeral and everything, though I only found out later that your bodies had been stolen from the morgue and as such they were empty caskets"

"As I said, it's a little confusing to me as well"

"Wait...where's Akechi?"

"Akechi...Akechi sacrificed himself for me, he died so that I might have a chance to live"

"What happened Kenmochi?"

"Kindaichi, I don't want you to hear this...at least not at the moment"

"I...I understand ossan, I'll tell our superiors about you actually being alive"

"What?"

"I became a police officer after I graduated, in honor of you two, but still there's going to be a _lot_ of paperwork to deal with to get you declared alive again"

Once Kindaichi leaves Li focuses his attention on Kenmochi

"Okay Kenmochi, what _exactly_ are you keeping from Kindaichi?"

And so Kenmochi tells Li the full story of what happened to him and Akechi after their apparent deaths, how they hadn't been dead but drugged into people thinking they were dead and then smuggled into China for forced labor, how they were the ones giving Li the clues he had gotten that had eventually led to the arrests of the one who had almost killed them, he even explained in painful detail how exactly Akechi had sacrificed himself for Kenmochi to have a chance to live, even if that chance was extremely slim due to the circumstances

"We've both been weakened by what has happened to us over the past...four or so years since we were nearly murdered, which I'm glad you guys caught by the way but they were little fish in a bigger operation unfortunately. We were working in a fish shop when Akechi and I saw someone new being beaten for no real reason and decided to protect the newcomer, now then that is not abnormal for the two of us and as such our captors know what to look for and also have unique ways of punishing us, but this time we felt that they had gone too far and as such engineered and escape plan for not only us but everyone else being forced to do labor. Ultimately Akechi and I were recaptured and tortured for what we had done. As for the torture...we were whipped on our backs until we bled and then whipped some more just because they could, they broke our ribs, hands and feet, we were burned in places, cut in other places...we basically drifted in and out of consciousness frequently, finally though Akechi managed to break loose and freed me and then we were on the run, but with our injuries we didn't get very far, Akechi then sacrificed himself by forcing me into the river while he held the group back, and oh what a fight it must have been from what little I was able to witness for myself. With my injuries I couldn't swim as well as normal and well, you know the rest"

"You were found half dead and were put into a medical coma, by the way were you..."

"Sexually assaulted? I don't know actually, you'll have to ask my doctors because right now I don't want to know"

"You know, you'll have to find out eventually, but for now I guess I can find out first and then go from there and don't worry I won't tell Kindaichi anything without your permission, is there anything else that you remember from your time as slaves?"

"Not...not really, and as I said we were in and out of consciousness for our torture so even I don't know everything that they did to the two of us"

"I see...I will have people start looking for the survivors of the group you were captured by if possible and also start seeing if there are other locations of forced labor and if that's the case get those people back home somehow. In the meantime I'll leave you to do more healing and...I think Kindaichi already has the plans already made regarding revealing to the world about your survival including getting paperwork ready to declare you legally alive again"

"Right, by the way, what's with the crutch?"

"Later Kenmochi"

"Lat...wait...no I remember now, Akechi and I were the one's who saved you during that shootout, you see we were allowed out for supplies and...other things and we heard the shooting, we got you out of the crossfire and did what we could to keep you alive, afterwords...afterwords we had to explain to our _masters_ what kept us for so long. The only saving grace is that we mentioned you were unconscious, we were in disguise and we didn't give our names to the paramedics"  
"You two were...I've been wanting to thank the two of you since I got out of the hospital"

"I guess there were some permanent aftereffects huh?"

"Yes, but the crutch is only on bad weather days for the most part"

"I see...I think you should leave now, I still get tired easily and recounting what happened to Akechi..."

"I understand I have to tell my bosses your true identity anyways since they think you're Takato Yoichi"

"They _what_?"

"Hey can you blame them considering that the only coherent words you said initially was your name, Akechi's, mine and Kindaichi's? I should also add the fact that Takato Yoichi has changed tactics and goes directly after Kindaichi if he has the opportunity, also went after me a time or two as well, once when I was in the hospital after you guy saved my life"

"Guess not"

"I'll let you get some rest now, when you're a little stronger I'll see what I can arrange in regards to actual sight seeing being as I know you've never been here as a tourist"

It would take Kenmochi another month to heal enough to be allowed out of the hospital, by that time he had been legally declared alive again and a passport had been mailed to him as well so that when it was time he could return home. Kenmochi had been warned that he may be forced to medically retire from the force or even be permanently switched to a desk job but that didn't worry Kenmochi since he had known from the start that such was a possibility when he realized that he was alive


	9. Chapter 9

"Still, to have you back is amazing, I just wish..."

"I know Kindaichi I also have that wish"

"Ossan, I know that you don't want to give me details on what happened to you but..."

"It was bad Kindaichi, I won't go into details but we were tortured, physically, mentally and emotionally, as far as the doctors could tell I at least lucked out on not being sexually assaulted but since we were both in and out of consciousness I don't know about Akechi, and we'll never find out now considering..."

"Li is looking just in case but...so far there's not much luck, however they did find most of the people who you helped free and are dealing with a ton of paperwork but are relieved to be doing this particular bit of paperwork instead of death notifications, well okay they're reversing some of the death notifications considering how long some of the people have been slaves and missing from their country of origin"

Kindaichi would have to return before Kenmochi but just as Li promised Kenmochi was given a tour of Hong Kong, some of the tour was through Li and some of it through trusted friends of Li, but eventually Kenmochi had to leave China and return back to Japan where his fate would be decided regarding if he would remain a police officer even if desk bound or would be forced into medical retirement for everyone's own safety including his own

"I know that's a possibility and am prepared for it"

Surprisingly enough though it would turn out that Kenmochi was like Li, except in certain situations he was physically capable of completing all of his original police duties and even then with minor help and assistant equipment he could continue the job he loved

"It's good to see you back at the job you love"

"Agreed, though I have to admit I find it a bit strange that I am professionally working with you now Kindaichi"

"That is a bit strange for me too, bet Akechi would also find it weird"

"Probably would"

Soon enough it was the five year anniversary of the apparent deaths of Akechi and Kenmochi, and even if Kenmochi was alive Akechi was still gone and so the two went to the grave of Akechi and Kenmochi saw that he had been buried next to Akechi

"Oh...I thought that had already been removed, I'll talk to the boss about that then"

Their superior then came up

"Actually, that's something we wanted to talk to the two of you about"

"Boss"

"There's a reason why we've kept the grave of Kenmochi even though he's legally declared alive, you see at first while we believed you Kindaichi we still wanted proof for ourselves that it was him, and the other reason is...Li called us and mentioned that the people who captured Akechi and Kenmochi in the first place are still on the loose, it's why we've kept the news of Kenmochi's survival out of the news and also why we kept the grave"

"To fool them"

"Yes, it's for your own safety that you're still believed dead by the majority of the world Kenmochi, those who need to know the truth know the truth and won't reveal it but..."

"I see"

"Still, I never thought that after five years one of you would actually be with me for the annual pilgrimage to the graves, even if it's simply to destroy them"

"I know, I'm simply glad to be alive...even if it's only because Akechi forced me into the river when we were cornered as a small hope that I would survive"

Suddenly Kindaichi's and Kenmochi's phones both went off and there was a message for both of them from the boss who knew that they were visiting Akechi's grave and thus decided not to call them, but since it was slightly urgent and he knew that their phones were set up to alert them to any texts the boss texted them

*Case in Osaka that you're both needed for, you have two hours to get on the plane, and let Komura know that he's needed back at headquarters*

"Looks like all three of us need to get going, Kenmochi and I need to get to Osaka while you're needed back at headquarters"

"Understood"

The three take one last look at Akechi's grave and then Kenmochi says what he could never say before

"Goodbye Akechi...and thank you for sacrificing yourself so that I might live"


	10. Chapter 10

And with that the three left Akechi's grave and went to their respective locations where they were needed, as for the Osaka situation it ended relatively quickly with both of them on the scene, unfortunately like always Takato Yoichi escaped seeing as how he was involved, but not before trying to kill Kindaichi. What neither was aware of was the fact that that nearly six thousand miles away events were being put into motion that would eventually result in an unexpected but very welcomed reunion because it turned out that Akechi hadn't died when he had allowed Kenmochi to escape, instead his captors decided that Hong Kong was too close to home and would take him as far away as they could think of where he wouldn't be recognized instantly and would hopefully also not know the language not really knowing that he had trained in Los Angeles and as such was practically fluent in English. Of course to help keep him from being recognized they forced a disguise on him though they also realized that they would be unable to rid him of the glasses since he needed them to actually see to do the work they forced him to do, they also kept him inside for the majority of the time and unlike Kenmochi he was unlucky in the fact that he was regularly raped, initially that was as punishment for allowing Kenmochi and the others to escape, Kenmochi twice but eventually it was simply because of the fact that they could, plus they were trying to break his spirit, but that aspect would never work because _very_ early in their capture Akechi and Kenmochi made a vow to each other which eventually turned into a mental mantra and that vow was to do their best to get home one day and in the meantime never forget that they were officers of the law even in their current situation

"We'll be leaving for a couple of days, you know the rules about if you leave without our permission which you don't have"

"I understand"

"Good"

Meanwhile Scotland Yard had received a tip about the location that Akechi was being kept at and were making _plans_ for the entire section of the city

"**Okay people, does everyone understand what the plan is for tomorrow?**"**  
**

"**Sir, are you sure we'll have enough people for such a huge search?**"**  
**

"**Don't worry, that's why I deliberately asked other cities to borrow a couple of their officers to fill in for the manpower that we need to do this raid**"**  
**

"**What are the chances of hidden spaces?**"

"**They are considered to be extremely high so once the obvious locations are cleared you are to search _very_ carefully for hidden spaces that might hold slaves or at the very least undocumented workers**"**  
**

"**Sir, are we going in full riot gear?**"**  
**

"**Yes and no, some of the officers will be in full riot gear while others will simply be in regular uniforms, the full riot gear is for locations where we know that there's a high possibility of armed **r**esistance**"

"**How are we going to time this so that we arrive in secret yet hit all the locations at once?**"**  
**

"**That is going to indeed be tricky but I have a plan on how to do so**"

"**So, what exactly is the search for anyways? I don't believe anyone here explained that yet**"

"**Right, all you guys know is that we needed extra manpower, we have a tip about undocumented workers in the area, it's forced labor where they're getting paid less than the minimum wage at best, slavery where they get nothing at worst**"

And so the planning continued and then the next day the raids were executed, now then Akechi wasn't found in the initial search, nor was he found for the next three days while a more thorough search was being done, but finally on the third day of the investigation one of the officers happened across the secret entrance in the building that Akechi was being kept in and the smell alerted the officer to the fact that something was seriously wrong

"**Hey guys I think I found something**"

Other officers came and a few were instantly sick at the smell, but they bravely entered the corridor and came across a door that was locked and locked well and good, this was to prevent Akechi from escaping ever again

"**Someone find me something that will break these locks**"

"**What about our guns?**"

"**No that won't work, I already know from those locks that they can't be shot out, tried it once before and empty two magazines before giving up**"

Ultimately it was decided that the easiest thing for them to do was bomb the door and as such the bomb squad was called in, an hour later and they arrived and everyone could tell that they weren't happy about the smell they were being forced to deal with

"**What do you need us for?**"

"**See this door, I want it gone, however if there's anyone inside I don't want them injured in the process**"

"**Okay, but I highly doubt that there's anyone still alive, however it's a good idea to preserve the scene and thus not do a lot of damage to the room inside, has anyone taken a picture of this door yet to prove that we were needed?**

"**Yes, that was done shortly after I called for help and asked for the bomb squad**"

"**Okay then, let's get to work**"

Three minutes later and one of the members of the bomb squad says the one word that let's everyone know they are in the danger zone

"**Clear!**"

With exact precision the door is blown open but the only damage is to the door, and when the officers go inside that's when they find Akechi, he was barely conscious due to dehydration, and due to lighting conditions and the fact that his glasses had actually broken the second day of being locked up his vision wasn't the greatest either, but he felt someone touch his neck to feel for a pulse

"**Someone get an ambulance!, this person's still alive, but might not last much longer**"

Akechi licks his lips and moves his mouth but initially no sound came out, however one of the officers always carried emergency water on them and as such whetted Akechi's lips and also his parched throat and as such is able to say two very important but short messages

"**Know English, native language Japanese**"

With that Akechi loses consciousness, but fortunately an ambulance arrives not long afterwords and he's rushed to the nearest hospital with an officer by his side since it's obvious that he himself is a crime scene. At the hospital the doctors are relieved that Akechi is unconscious for the invasive exams needed and quickly confirms that Akechi had been raped repeatedly and fairly recently too

"**Do you know their identity?**"

"**No, all I know is that they apparently know English but their native language is Japanese**"

"**Then once they're awake I will get a translator for easier communication with them**"

"**An officer will have to stay nearby unfortunately not only because they are obviously the victim of some sort of crime and thus we have questions for them once they are awake but with the fact that we found him in one of the locations that we recently raided his life might be in danger by the people who had him work for them for whatever reason**"

Akechi would be unconscious for three days, his body knowing that he was safe somehow and the need to heal meant that the medications the hospital were giving him were working extra effectively in regards to sleep side effects, but finally he woke up and there were three people in the room at the same time. One in obvious doctor's clothes, one in what looked to possibly be an officer's uniform and one dressed professionally, the one who was an obvious doctor speaks first

"**Hello sir, I've been the primary doctor since your arrival three days ago**"

The second person who is dressed professionally then repeats the doctors words in Japanese

"**I know that you understand English, however not only am I not aware of how proficient you are, you have been through a lot recently and as such I felt it best to have a translator with me in case you don't understand something I have said or you yourself slip into your native Japanese**"

"Thank you, I think right now I prefer to speak Japanese, but unless I interrupt you and ask a question I would prefer that the translator not translate for you seeing as how I am fluent in English for reasons that I will get into later most likely"

"**Understood, now then the first thing I and the officer need to know is what you know about what happened to you**"

"I will not get into the specifics right now but I and...and a companion who is either safe or dead by now were taken as slaves several years ago now, several months to around a year ago we and a few others escaped our captors but my companion and I were recaptured and tortured before we were on the verge of capture a second time. I gave my companion the slimmest of chances of survival by pushing him into a river and fighting back our captors, but I don't know what happened to him afterwords, he might be dead, he might be alive, I don't know. I was then recaptured and instead of being killed I was instead taken here, wherever here is and forced into slavery once more, and yes doctor I am fully aware of the fact that I was sexually assaulted repeatedly, they made sure I was conscious whenever they were raping me"

When the translator repeated what Akechi had told them both the doctor and officer looked grim at the fact that not only was Akechi aware of being sexually assaulted but also the fact that there were probably poorly healed injuries that the patient now needed to talk about in greater detail, though some of the torture was physically obvious they also knew that there were probably mental and emotional scars that needed cared for as well. They were also upset at the fact that Akechi hadn't been alone during the majority of his time in that situation and that Akechi wasn't sure if his companion was dead or alive


	11. Chapter 11

"**I see, by the way we need a name to try and see if there's anyone who needs to be informed of where you currently are, friends or family, we currently have you here as a John Doe**"

"My name is Akechi Kengo, I am actually a police officer with the Tokyo MPD, however I also know for a fact that I have been declared dead for however long it has been since the supposed accident that took the life of me and my companion. Seeing as how I am a police officer I am an excellent witness when the people who forced me into this life are caught, I also know that there's a chance I will never be a police officer again even after I heal from my injuries"

When the doctor and officer heard _that_ they were extremely shocked and the police officer speaks out of turn and in a voice that clearly stated how shocked he was

"**Su...Superintendent Akechi?, it...it can't be, you were declared dead five years ago, you and Inspector Kenmochi both, you were killed in an accident that was later determined by Detective Kindaichi to be a murder, he and Detective Li of Hong Kong found the people who had supposedly murdered you and yet made it look like an accident, it made international news when the two were tried and sentenced to natural life sentences, they'll die in prison because of what they did to the two of you, or at least...what was believed to have happened to the two of you**"

"Five _years_?, it's really been five years since that day?"

"**Yes, where...where were you and Inspector Kenmochi when you tried to give him a chance of survival?**"

"Hong Kong, I pushed him into the river myself"

"**I'll check with Hong Kong and see if I can find out more information, or at the very least start a body search, however before I do that I will have to prove your identity without a doubt which means Interpol checks, even if you've been declared deceased due to that incident several years before you two were apparently killed Interpol keeps the fingerprints of all officers even if they've been declared deceased**"

"Try and get Li if at all possible, he's really the only person I trust to handle this situation, even if he's had a few rough patches with me and Kindaichi over the period of our acquaintance"

"**How did you find out you were in Hong Kong anyways?**"

"Our captors were incredibly stupid at the time, they let Kenmochi and I out at times and one day during an errand we saw and recognized Li, actually saved his life after he was caught in a shootout, we didn't give out our identities for safety reasons and as it is we were still punished for returning late that day, but not as severely as it might have been had we revealed who we were to the paramedics who arrived to take Li to the hospital"

"**Let me guess, you've been kept inside pretty much the entire time you've been here right?**"

"Correct, by the way where _am I _anyways?"

"**London, England, some people sometimes say Great Britain but Great Britain is made up of four countries we we differentiate between the four whenever possible**"

"I see, I guess now would be the time for fingerprints officer?"

"**Yes, by the way I'm part of Scotland Yard and the officers who come in on rotation at any given time will also be from Scotland Yard, some will be uniformed officers and others will be plain clothed officers, most likely a Detective Inspector, if the officer is in plain clothes they will identify themselves immediately to you with their badge and all uniformed officers are trained to detect impostors**"

"There's one person you'll find hard to detect, his name is Takato Yoichi"

"**Oh we're doing the best we can to be prepared for him, in the meantime though I think it's best to start the process of confirming your identity and then once that's confirmed calling this Detective Li from Hong Kong to get the search for Inspector Kenmochi going**"

The officer takes Akechi's fingerprints and states that he'll be back once the results are in, in the meantime Akechi who was still recovering went back to sleep knowing that he would be woken up for the results of the fingerprint testing. Two hours later and he is indeed woken up

"**It really is you, you've caused a stir at the station by the way**"

"Sorry about that but I have little choice in that matter being legally dead for the last five years"

"**We know, now then I am going to call Detective Li while you're in the room so that you can confirm everything I tell him yourself**"

"Except for one glaring problem, it's the middle of the night over there"

"**I see, guess I'm waiting until early tomorrow then**"

"Guess you are, how early is early anyways?"

"**Seven in the morning for us**"

"You're going to need a translator for this call you know that right?"

"**I know, however here's the thing the doctor mentioned wanting to talk to Detective Li at the same time depending on when the call is being made so this is going to be a video conference call which means that you're going to be visible as well**"

"Best not, at least not until you mention me by name, it might be too much of a shock for him"

"**Understood, by the way just how **_**do**_** you know English?**"

"I trained in Los Angeles for a period of time and as such learned the English language, though there are apparently differences between American English and British English"

The next day at exactly 7:30 the conference call was begun, now then since Kindaichi was in Hong Kong at the time for a case and it was explained that Li knew Japanese it was decided that a Japanese translator would be used

"**Hello Detectives Li and Kindaichi, there's something we need to discuss immediately**"

"What is it officer?"

"**There's a Japanese national who was rescued recently from a life of forced labor, though they have actually confirmed that they were actually basically a slave**"

"Why have you contacted me then if it is a Japanese national involved?"

"**Because of the fact that the Japanese national specifically requested you Detective Li, this is because you have the authority to check something and at least start a search, I was going to have the search started anyways but when they specifically requested you I went along with their request**"

"What search is needed?"

"**You will need to dredge some sort of river for the body of Isamu Kenmochi, an Inspector with the Tokyo MPD homicide division, either that or try and find out if he's actually alive but in hiding from the people who took him prisoner and made him a slave in the first place**"

"O...ossan? I heard you correctly when you said a river was to be dredged to possibly find the body of ossan?"

"**Yes**"

"Who made this request?"

"**A Superintendent Kengo Akechi who has been confirmed to be alive through running his fingerprints through Interpol's database**"

"Akechi?!, he's alive?"

"**Indeed he is, let us turn the screen quickly**"

And so the screen is turned and for the first time in just over five years Kindaichi and Li see Akechi in the flesh, he doesn't quite look like the Akechi they knew yet seeing as how his hair had been died brown, his glasses had been obviously hospital issued and his eyes looked more hazel than their normal brown (the hospital had been aware of the colored contacts immediately and taken them out but the damage had been done and his eye color had yet to return to normal if they ever would) but it was obviously Akechi


	12. Chapter 12

"Akechi...how?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself Kindaichi, I was prepared to die when I...when I pushed Kenmochi into the river for the very slim chance of survival but I wasn't killed. Instead I was taken here to Britain where the slavery and torture continued, this time unlike before as far as I'm aware of they added the pain of being aware of being raped repeatedly. Anyways like the officer said I am officially requesting the Hong Kong police to search the river for Kenmochi's body, I requested Li specifically because I trust him despite our rough patches"

"Akechi, Kenmochi is alive, he was found half dead in the Shing Mun, he healed up and has returned to work, and by the way I already thanked him and now I am thanking you for saving my life during that incident with the shootout, I have since healed almost completely but will need a crutch for the rest of my life in bad weather"

"I see...that is good to hear, I wasn't sure if Kenmochi had survived or not in fact half the time I believed that he must have died due to our injuries when we escaped the second time around"

"Man, now the Japanese government will have to deal with paperwork for _you_ to be declared alive, and they might do what they did with ossan's grave which is keep it standing until the ones who captured you and forced you into slavery are caught with only those that absolutely have to know know about your survival"

"Well, even if I am declared alive, I have to stay here in Britain for a bit, plus most likely I will be forced into retirement"

"Ossan passed his training requirements and only needs assistive devices on occasion, I'm sure that you'll pass as well Akechi"

"No, I'm afraid you're wrong Kindaichi, they did much more damage to me then they did to Kenmochi and while Li has been allowed back onto the force even if he needs a crutch during bad weather my injuries are not that easily healed"

"Well, we'll see later, by the way Takato Yoichi has changed tactics and tries to kill me or any officer associated with me whenever there's an encounter, he's still Hell's Puppeteer, but due to his habit of being around for the end it means that once he's revealed he tries to kill us, and sometimes he doesn't even wait to play Hell's Puppeteer but simply attacks us directly, speaking of which I still think you should be in the hospital Li"

"I'm fine, it was just a scratch"

"Yeah, a scratch that went down to the bone, the doctor said that you're lucky you didn't lose your arm"

Suddenly the doctor cleared his throat reminding Li, Kindaichi and Akechi that there were two others in the room plus the video conference translator that needed to speak as such they all immediately apologized due to the fact that the doctor had given the translator a specific signal that stated that the initial conversation between Li, Kindaichi and Akechi was to be kept private since the doctor and officer were sure that they needed to talk about Akechi's survival between each other, especially if there was a chance that Akechi's companion was deceased, but the obvious relief at one point in the conversation meant that Akechi's companion was alive, but through a quick hand signal from Kindaichi the fact that Kenmochi was alive was relayed to the doctor and officer and then the conversation was private again, and then the doctor spoke up

"**Now then I have to tell you guys that it's going to be a bit before he's medically cleared to fly back to Japan even if the criminals are caught and dealt with in court here in Britain so that gives anyone who needs to get any paperwork for my patient filled out to fill it out and get the proper identification mailed to the hospital, that does include his driver's license and passport since of course he can't leave the country without said passport plus with the knowledge I now have regarding his injuries I can tell that several of them are either half healed or healed improperly and we're looking at re-breaking bones to try and get them to heal correctly which might not even work. On top of that as you can see he's currently on oxygen, if he isn't off of it by the time he's safe to leave the hospital there's going to be issues getting him onto a flight back to Japan for safety reasons if nothing else. Mr. Akechi is looking at **_**months**_** of rehabilitation if not a few years and may be forced to leave the police force due to said injuries, and Mr. Kindaichi I can tell by your face that Mr. Akechi is telling you with his own facial expressions an I-told-you-so for whatever reason. And as is obvious Mr. Akechi has to stay as material witness to what happened in the place that a raid took place in, and as a police officer he is considered an excellent witness in this case. As for you Detective Li you need to go to the hospital or something because your arm is bleeding, and quite heavily too**"

When Li hears that he looks down at his arm and let's out a curse and then glares at Kindaichi and then Akechi speaks up

"Hospital Li, _now_ because it looks like you and Kindaichi have gotten close in regards to a working relationship and he needs you as healthy as you'll ever be again"

"Fine, by the way your government did something for me that Kindaichi is refusing to let me reciprocate, talk some sense into him maybe? I know for a fact that Kenmochi has failed to do so as of when he showed up two days ago"

"And I'm telling you I don't need that, besides the fact that I never expected to go back and forth as frequently as I have been I feel it's too dangerous for both of us to have such paperwork"

Throat clearing is heard yet again and this time the officer is the one to speak up

"**In any case, we'll also be glad for the paperwork that legally declares Superintendent Akechi alive once more, and we'll also probably want the testimony of Inspector Kenmochi if it's the same group as the ones he escaped from in Hong Kong, and by the way we might call on you two as well for information related to the case but I don't know about that yet. In any case we're still dealing with a lot of paperwork from the raid and will contact you both if we find Chinese or Japanese nationals, other then Superintendent Akechi here that is**"

They acknowledge their understanding and then the doctor leaves but not the police officer and Kindaichi speaks up

"Is there anything else officer?"

"**Yes actually, due to the fact that most of the people that we found will be going home under escort for crimes if they were arrested as part of the group that enslaved people and the fact that some like Superintendent Akechi here were forced into slavery we are asking every country that has been identified as the nationality of either a criminal or victim to send an escort to London for both criminal and victim, criminal is obvious but for the victims we want an escort as a means of starting them to re-socialize with the normal world, plus catch them up on anything that they might be interested in with their home country or family so that they're not feeling so out of place when they get back home, and there's the fact that like we already mentioned regarding Superintendent Akechi there's documents that will be needed to get everyone home and police officers naturally are the best to carry said documents. The British government is currently working on making temporary permits for your weapons and you will be informed once those permits go through so that you can legally have your weapons here with you**"

Once the two mention that they understand the situation and that depending on what was going on at the time they themselves might be the ones picking up criminal and victim alike with a few other officers the officer leaves and it's then discovered that Li, Kindaichi and Akechi can _talk_, the interpreter was the one who mentioned that the hospital had already decided that once the main conversation between the two countries was finished the video conference would be continued by the three of them, by that point in time Li had his injury taken care of by an onsite medic who insisted that once Li and Kindaichi were finished completely with their call that Li go straight to the hospital as a precaution. As for what they talked about not only did Akechi get a _brief_ update on the situation in Japan but Akechi also got an explanation for why Kindaichi went into law enforcement straight out of high school, what Li had been able to do with the information that Kenmochi had provided to him in regards to the Hong Kong operation and even brief updates on personal things, but finally the call ended and Akechi practically slept for the rest of the day due to the conversations being exhausting for him due to his physical condition currently. Over the next five months Akechi made small but constant improvement, by the time he had been in the hospital for three months he was walking with a walker and two people beside him at all times, by four months he was walking with crutches and no longer needed oxygen or companions by his side constantly and by the fifth month while he still needed crutches to walk if it was long distances he was completely off oxygen and living by himself in a rented apartment while the police were still organizing the case against his captors and the other people who enslaved many of his fellow workers. He had shocked almost everyone at the hospital initially with how well he was doing and how quickly he was recovering all things considered until he had explained that as a police officer, even one who was basically a slave he and Kenmochi did their best to keep themselves as fit as possible, add in the fact that he was motivated to get back as much function as he ever could and that meant he worked as hard as the physical therapists would let him work even pushing past their own set limits on occasion. He was making lunch for himself when suddenly the doorbell rang and seeing as how he was fluent in English and also knew it was most likely someone from Scotland Yard he immediately replied in English


	13. Chapter 13

"**Just a minute!**"

He quickly turns off the heat and opens the door and sees that it's the officer he saw when he first woke up all those months ago

"**Hey Mr. Akechi, I have been ordered to escort you to the police station so that you might identify your captors, or at the very least identify others who were working with the ones who captured you and forced many of the ones freed into slavery**"

"**Let me put up the food I was beginning to cook and get my crutches and I will be right there**"

"**I'll help**"

Ten minutes later and the two were headed to Scotland Yard

"**How's physical therapy going for you anyways?**"

"**According to the doctors there's a chance I've reached the limits of what physical therapy can do for me in regards to being able to walk again. The fact that I never got proper treatment for the majority of my wounds incurred in torture means that even with the fact that several of my fractures were carefully re-broken and set properly in both my arms and legs the damage has already been done. As such I most likely will be medically retired when I return home**"

"**You know...there's also a chance that you'll simply be relegated to the desk more than before, didn't you say before that you were stabbed in the chest once and only the fact that the culprit though your heart was on the right side spared you from being killed? I thought I heard you mention that you were in a wheelchair for a month and a half from that injury and it took you eight more months to be fully back in the field**"

"**There is that chance, but considering all of my physical and mental injuries it's not very likely I'll be allowed back to work, but I guess I will simply have to wait and see what my superiors decide in regards to my fate with the Tokyo MPD**"

The two eventually get to Scotland Yard and Akechi is guided towards the place where he would make his identifications if he could identify any of them positively

"**Mr. Akechi, they won't be able to see you from here seeing as how these are always one way mirrors for safety reasons, all you need to do is tell us which numbers are the people who you recognize from either here in Britain or even someone from Hong Kong**"

The group is brought out and as soon as Akechi sees them he instinctively takes a step backwards which tells the other officers that he _definitely_ recognized at least one of the people in the line up

"**Mr. Akechi, it's okay, you're safe, they won't get to you I promise, and...if you want to speak with them yourself they will be behind a barrier and handcuffed I promise**"

"**I might indeed want to talk to number's 3 and 9 later, as for the others number 1 is innocent of both Britain and Hong Kong as far as I am aware of, but then again I was kept in the building you found me in so I can't be positive he isn't involved in one of the other buildings and while number 8 is free of Hong Kong he was...he was one of the one's who raped me twice, and he payed a thousand each time from what I overheard. Not everyone involved in Hong Kong is here, but I leave that to Li hopefully, Li and Kenmochi**"

"**What about numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7?**"

"**They were involved in the British operations, however...from what I could observe at least numbers 5 and 6 were coerced into helping so they are innocent to a degree at the very least**"

"**I see, I think you'd best simply have lunch here and some water and then later make a decision about if you want to see 3 and 9 today or not**"

It would be two days before Akechi summoned up the courage to see numbers 3 and 9 outside of court

"**Okay, I want to see them and speak to them**"

"**Okay, just give us a few minutes to get that arranged**"

Ten minutes later and Akechi is in front of the two people he had stated he would probably want to see again at some point

"**So, what do you want to talk to us about sir?**"

"**Besides the fact that I **_**know**_** the two of you were behind the hit on Kenmochi and I, even if you got two other people to do your dirty work for you, I want to know **_**exactly**_** how long such operations have been going on in Japan and any other place you have operated in**"

"**Like we'd tell a cop about our operations**"

"**Fine, it's not like things won't come out in court, but be aware that harsher punishments will be given to you if you refuse to cooperate now, plus I think I should let you know the charges that you are going to be facing, just to give you an idea about if it might actually be worth it to plea deal or something along those lines. The charges you are facing are attempted murder of a law enforcement officer times two, one charge for me and one charge for Kenmochi, torture of a human being, slavery of a human being, sexual assault, even if you were not actively participating in the assault the fact that you were payed for the...privilege of having me raped means you are capable of being charged with that act, one account for each person who raped me by the way, unlawful imprisonment of a human being, one count for each slave by the way plus a litany of other charges that the British government can find you guilty of under their laws, I do believe that they have pretty strict gun control laws in place that you've violated, so you tell me, is this silence worth the harshest punishment you'll receive under British law? I might want to also add that there's a chance that you'll also be extradited to Hong Kong and Japan respectively to face pending charges there, and they might sentence you to death for what you've done**"

Suddenly the two switch to Japanese

"That may be the case Akechi, but we will _never _talk about what you want us to talk about, and for the record we _enjoyed_ every minute we watched you suffer, what you don't know is that there are secret recordings of our actions both here and in Hong Kong, and you'll never find those recordings either because we've hidden them so well"

"Why you...don't think that you're actually going to get away with this, those recordings _will_ be found and you _will_ be found guilty of what is on them"

Akechi then tells the guards in the room that he was finished with those two and they could tell that he was seething in anger

"**Okay what did they say that has made you so angry?**"

"**There are recordings of what they did to me and Kenmochi, I need to tell Li to start his search over again to hopefully find said recordings and you guys need to do another search as well and hope that the recordings can still be found**"

"**We'll look for them then, after all we have yet to allow any businesses to start working again in the area that you and the others were found in**"

"**That's good, but I don't know if that's the same for Hong Kong, especially considering the fact that not only has it been a couple of years since then but Hong Kong wasn't even aware of the situation until Kenmochi escaped**"

"**You call Li and let him know then, I am **_**not**_** in the mood to possibly argue through a translator**"

As it turned out Kindaichi and Li had both become _extremely_ suspicious about the area that Kenmochi had been found in half dead and as such searched the _entire_ area covered by the Shing Mun river and had actually found those disks, but they hadn't looked at what was on the disks primarily because they wanted Kenmochi to view them as well and even now Kenmochi had nightmares about what had happened to him during that time. Akechi wasn't much better but he also knew that it needed to be done and as such authorized the two to view the disks for both of them, and in Britain the disks were found relatively quickly once they were known about and Akechi asked for the right to view those disks himself before they were viewed in a court of law seeing as how the case was about to go to trial, and Li and Kindaichi had copied the ones in Hong Kong and mailed them directly to Scotland Yard

"**I want to see them for myself**"

"**But Mr. Akechi...**"

"**I **_**have**_** to see them, I have to know what was done for myself**"

"**No, I'm sorry but we can't risk the courts throwing this case out due to you wanting to see what happened to you, especially when you were in your less lucid state of mind**"

"**So basically I'm going to be as surprised as the judge and jury**"

"**Unfortunately yes**"

"**Very well...but can I be a witness for myself before the video is seen?**"

"**Of course, that was always the plan once we knew about these disks, you testify what you know was done to you for yourself and then the videos will be shown**"

And so over the course of the next three days Akechi explains in perfect detail what he remembered about the past five and a half years and then the courts were told about the fact that there was video evidence to corroborate what Akechi had told them, they also explained that Akechi had missing pieces of memory from his time in Hong Kong and also as it turned out Britain due to the condition he had been kept in whenever he broke a rule or of course when he had escaped the first time in Hong Kong. The people mentioned that the court was deliberately a closed court because of what was on the video's and that they felt that Akechi should have as much privacy as possible when recounting what had happened to him and also when he discovered what had been done to him in his less lucid moments and thus they began watching the tapes. That's when Akechi learned that not only had he almost died three different times in Hong Kong, but also in exchange for Kenmochi's safety and well being he had begged his captors to do anything unsavory to him, especially when Kenmochi was becoming extremely ill right before their escape where Kenmochi would find safety and freedom while Akechi would remain a slave for another year. As such he found out that he was unaware of being raped several times while in Hong Kong in replace of Kenmochi being raped because that was the original plan, to rape Kenmochi several times in his weakened state knowing that Kenmochi most likely would never remember such happening, granted Akechi wasn't really aware of what was happening either in Hong Kong and thus wasn't aware of just how often he had actually been raped, but he realized the incidents in Hong Kong were the reason why his captors made sure he remembered being raped in Britain. The recordings also graphically gave the courts evidence of the torture he had been through for the past five years, but the judge stopped the recordings when it came time for the courts to see Akechi being raped knowingly in Britain, all they heard was this


	14. Chapter 14

"**Well now, seeing as how you tried to escape and managed to let the one successfully escape we feel like it's our job to punish you, as such this person here is going to have...fun with you and you can't stop it**"

"**What kind of fun?**"

"**You're about to find out**"

When the person came and undid Akechi's pants the video captured the horror on Akechi's face as he realized what was about to happen to him and that's when the judge stopped the recording

"**That's enough! I see no reason to view further recordings given that the witness has already testified to this**"

But then Akechi spoke up

"**No, continue the recordings**"

"**Witness?**"

"**There's...there's things that happened that I didn't discuss in regards to when I was being repeatedly raped, this is due to the fact that I was uncertain of how to describe those actions because of the reaction of the jury about the fact that I was aware of being raped and that I was also aware that for one case at least it was for profit**"

"**Very well, we will continue watching the recordings, but only after an hour recess, and I want to know just how much more is left of these recordings, and depending in the answer I alone will watch the remaining recordings**"

"**I understand your honor and will abide by your judgment in that regards, but again like I said I fear that the jury needs to see what was done to me while I was being repeatedly raped**"

An hour later and the jury watched Akechi being raped repeatedly in time-lapsed recordings and they saw what Akechi needed them to see, what he himself couldn't describe not only because of the reactions of the jury at finding out Akechi was fully aware during the periods of rape but some of what had happened Akechi had not been able to see and thus not able to properly describe, especially since there were times when he had deliberately been numbed so that he _couldn't_ feel what was happening to him at the same time he was being raped

"**That is enough for the jury, I myself have several more recordings to go through and as such I am calling a recess until at least ten tomorrow so that I have time to digest what I will be seeing, if any of the jury feel like they have to finish watching that...that filth then meet me at my chambers at seven sharp, I have changed my mind about watching the rest in private for reasons that only those that watch the video with me will know about**"

The next day at ten it was obvious that three members of the jury had decided that they _needed_ to finish watching the recordings. This was because of the fact that they wanted to make sure of not only how accurate Akechi's testimony was, but also the fact that they wanted to make sure that the defendants didn't try and talk their way out of anything that hadn't been seen by anyone but the judge and the defendants did indeed try and persuade the jury that Akechi made up what they didn't see to try and lessen their crimes but the rest of the jury knew that the three had _seen_ the tape and their word was good enough for them in that regards. Once the jury stated that they were guilty of all crimes the judge gave the harshest punishment allowed by law, they also mentioned that when Japan and Hong Kong requested it they would be extradited to those countries and depending on the punishment decided by the judge they would either be in one of those countries for the sentence to be carried out or returned to Britain and the sentence that the judge declared would be carried out in Britain

"**Mr. Akechi I hope that this will help bring closure not only for you but all of the other victims of this crime and I want you to know that I am personally going to inform Mr. Kenmochi about this verdict as soon as I return to my office so that he also gets some closure**"

"**Understood your honor I will leave that to you then, about the recordings...I know that they cannot be destroyed as they are evidence and might be needed in the future but I must insist that they be locked away in a secure place with a limited amount of people allowed access to them, and I would suggest that everyone who had to see what was in those recordings either as a lawyer, a police officer, a member of the jury or even you your honor receives counseling for at least two weeks, more if they feel it is necessary**"

"**I am not sure about the counseling but I will agree to your demands about the recordings, as the victim that is your right, by the way I do need to know when you are planning on returning home so that I know if you are going to be part of the escort for some of the victims and one of the criminals**"

"**I do not know the exact details about that your honor, what I do know is now that the trials are over to an extent I am going to be going home within the next week, I have missed it greatly during these past five and a half years**"

"**I understand, are you certain you aren't needed for the rest of the trials?**"

"**I'm certain your honor**"

"**I guess you really do want to be home huh?**"

"**Yes your honor I do, it has been a long five years getting to this day and I and Kenmochi only survived it due to a mantra we told ourselves in order to keep our strength up to a degree**"

"**I understand, again I will tell Mr. Kenmochi about today and let the government of Japan and Hong Kong make a decision about putting them on trial in their respective countries**"

"**Thank you**"

And a week later and Akechi was indeed on a flight back home to Japan for the first time in nearly six years, with him was Kindaichi who had arrived in Britain two days previously to not only catch up Akechi in regards to what had been happening with everyone, but also to explain exactly what would happen once he was back home in regards to his police job, plus the two of them had a fight about Kindaichi not wanting paperwork that permanently allowed Kindaichi to have his gun with him in Hong Kong while Li had that privilege in Japan

"I told Li no and I meant it, part of it was because at the time I never expected going to Hong Kong as frequently as I have, the other reason is a safety reason due to Takato Yoichi primarily but also...well other factors that I haven't told Li or anyone else since they are primarily private"

"Kindaichi..."

"Please Akechi, respect my decisions"

(Sighs) "very well Kindaichi, by the way how is Li?"

"The wound took three months to fully heal but he healed up which is a good thing since that was his crutch arm too"

"Crutch?"

"Um...you remember rescuing him from the shootout right?"

"Yes, Kenmochi and I were unsure if he would actually survive or not"

"Turns out he almost completely healed except for his leg, as such in bad weather or if he's on a chase for a suspect for too long his leg can cramp up and give way and thus he will need a crutch for the ability to walk even somewhat normally"

"I see, he's lucky I guess, as is Kenmochi"

"Hey...like I said there's a good chance you'll be allowed to continue as a police officer Akechi, yes there will be things you can no longer do but they are willing to try and make things work and only if you and they decide it's not working will you be given medical retirement, according to the doctors from what you tell me they're amazed that you're even walking right now based on your injuries that you were given over the past five years"

"For now I think I just want to get back home...how was Kenmochi when you found him?"

"After we got past the whole he might be Takato Yoichi scare he mentioned how you had sacrificed yourself for his chance at freedom, he was a bit depressed for a little while and getting back to work wasn't the easiest for him but he managed. Hearing that you're alive also helped his mental state greatly then again even having a body to bury finally might have helped his mental state all things considered"

Several hours later and Akechi was finally back home and there to greet him was Kenmochi and also Li due to a prisoner of his needing transfer from Hong Kong to Japan the day before and finding out that Akechi was coming home that day he delayed his return by two days

"Welcome home Akechi"

"Thank you Li, Kenmochi..."

Akechi and Kenmochi stare at each other and then Akechi slips his forearms out of his crutches and Akechi and Kenmochi hug for the first time in a long while and Li and Kindaichi protected the two from any awkward looks because they understood that the bond the two shared transcended the simple bond of brotherhood that police officers had. They had gone through something together that no one wished on any person and as such that made their relationship change from superior and subordinate to something more akin to close family, add in the fact that for just over a year they each thought the other was most likely dead and Kenmochi and Akechi _needed_ this re-bonding time at the airport, even if Kenmochi was practicality supporting Akechi's weight

"I'm sorry for being so weak you felt you had to protect me Akechi"

"No Kenmochi, it wasn't that you were too weak, it was more the fact that I wanted at least one of us to have the chance to survive, slim as it was because at the time I truly believed that if we were recaptured a second time they would simply out right kill us, and while I can tell you need assistive devices for some things you are unlike me who needs help simply to walk. I also know for a fact that not hearing anything led me to believe that you didn't survive the swim in the river"

"That was deliberate on the part of the government once it was confirmed to be me, the same applies to you as well seeing as how there are still members of the group who took us captive that are still out there and plenty dangerous"

"I understand, still it was a relief to hear that you were alive"

"Same here Akechi, same here"

Once they were done re-bonding Kindaichi gave Akechi his crutches back knowing that Akechi needed them to be able to walk due to the damage to his legs


	15. Chapter 15

"Come on, let's get to the station so that everyone else can see the proof of your survival, by the way what did the doctors say regarding your eyes?"

"That they're most likely permanently like this now"

"I see, at least the damage wasn't more severe"

"Indeed I am lucky in that regards at the very least"

And so about half an hour later (due to traffic) Akechi stepped inside the station for the first time in almost five and a half years to a station standing at attention and he says the only words that are necessary for the officers to know that he truly was home

"I'm home everyone"

"Welcome home!"

Akechi knew that at least a few of the officers were staring at him due to the fact that he was using crutches to walk and they had never expected him to be weakened to that point while there were other officers staring at him due to the fact that they had never seen him in person before having joined the force after his and Kenmochi's apparent deaths. He was then escorted to the office of his superior to have private discussions about the possibility of his recovering more of his mobility over time and also trying to figure out what he could and couldn't do anymore in the field

"So the doctors in Britain think that you've reached your limit on regaining your mobility?"

"Yes, they say that the damage that was done to my legs is permanent and that I'm lucky I've regained what I have, there's also...there's also the fact that I have mental and emotional healing left to do plus while the doctors _think_ I have plateaued in my physical recovery you can of course send me to more physical therapy to see if I regain more mobility than what I have currently, sometimes I feel that even a light jog would be preferable to walking with crutches all the time"

"How far exactly can you go without crutches?"

"From here to Kindaichi's desk which I know for a fact has been deliberately placed close to the office, any further and I need the crutches, and even the short distance causes me pain and can cause my muscles to lock up and spasm"

"How frequently does that happen?"

"It depends on the day and also how long I've been sitting in one position"

"I'm amazed that you're not actually in a wheelchair then"

"I worked hard for that, and through the doctors knew that my injuries did not preclude me from walking ever again, it just took a lot of hard work was all and part of that was the fact that I was on oxygen for a while there"

"And yet you've made no further progress?"

"No, like I said I will willingly go to any physical therapy you assign me as part of any agreement to keep me on the force and if I have further improvement I will be happy for that, but first I must explain exactly what my injuries are which might make such a thing impossible. As you probably learned from Kenmochi we were tortured during our time imprisoned, and the torture was increased after our temporarily successful escape attempt, they broke our feet in several places and also our hands and one shoulder each thinking that it would prevent our escape, it didn't, once I was captured again I was transferred to Britain where the torture and slave treatment continued. In Britain my legs and arms were also broken, the legs in multiple places several times and I never got proper treatment for the injuries, my captors also...they did severe damage to my leg muscles at the same time they were having me raped repeatedly, and I was unaware of what they had done until I saw the video recording during trial. According to the judge there were also other things that they had done to me that I was unaware of that also hinders complete recovery in regards to the use of my legs, the judge never went into the specifics but I could tell from his voice that it was bad, the pain I feel in my legs also lets me know that I am lucky to have regained any ability to walk again"

"Why wouldn't the doctors have mentioned anything regarding your muscles when they were in the process of re-breaking your injuries to give you even a slight chance at those injuries healing even slightly more normally?"

"Because of the way the procedure was done they themselves were unaware of the muscle damage, if they had been forced to put rods in my legs I'm sure they would have noticed the damage and told me about it instead of me having to find out in a video recording"

"Akechi...what exactly _happened_ to you and to a degree Kenmochi? I need to know because Kenmochi has been pretty tight lipped according to the therapist he was assigned, granted the therapist didn't tell me anything that was discussed but there are times we're worried about his mental recovery"

"First thing that I need to make absolutely clear with you is that I will not go into great detail regarding my multiple rapes, if you want information regarding that you can request the video recordings, the second thing I need to make clear is that Kenmochi is not to learn that some of what I endured was because I was protecting him, granted that meant I was actually raped more often then I thought since I was actually raped in Hong Kong and wasn't aware of it, but it was worth it to get them to back off and also get him even a little bit of medical care when he desperately needed it the second time we were captured and tortured"

"I'm afraid that all I can do is keep it from Kenmochi as best I can for as long as I can, but there's a chance that he might find out on his own from others, or even through suppressed memories, and then there's the fact that if the criminals are extradited to here or Hong Kong he might have to watch the video's and discover it that ways"

"I understand, I guess that is the best I am going to get seeing as how if they _are_ extradited the courts will have to see the recordings and as one of the victims Kenmochi will have to testify about what he knows was done to him"

"Exactly, now then, explanations, and yes I will inform Kenmochi about the fact that I _ordered_ you to tell me about what happened to the two of you"

"Shouldn't he be in here as well then?"

"No, there's...there's something about that time that haunts him bad enough that he's useless for several days after he's reminded of that time period, and we already know that it's not your apparent death while giving him the chance for freedom, he understood that was your choice, not to mention the fact that you basically pulled rank on him albeit in a very rude way"

"Yeah...not my greatest idea but also not much choice in the matter either"

"He's said as much, and Li has also stated that there probably wasn't much of a choice considering the location the incident happened"

"Right, I think I also won't get into much detail about every incident and might skip some since five and a half years almost is a _lot_ to cover"

"I think...I think for now I just want to know what happened when the two of you were captured after your initial escape and what you feel you can tell me about your time in Britain, Kenmochi has explained some of what you guys went through as slaves for four years, five and a half for you of course but since he was there for the majority of that time..."

"Why do you want to know about when we were recaptured?"

"Because he admitted to us himself that both of you were in and out of consciousness for the torture, though now it sounds like he was out of it more often then you were, even if not by much"

"Kenmochi...Kenmochi doesn't remember this well but unfortunately his age means that he took more poorly to the torture than I did, he was unconscious nearly two-thirds of the time we were being tortured, while I was unconscious about half the time add in the fact that he got ill..."

"I see, in any case you can start when you're ready"

"Right"

_Over a year and a half ago_

Akechi and Kenmochi were chained to a pillar each, they were roughed up but both also knew that what they had been through already was just the beginning

"I'll admit that you gave us a good chase, but that just means that your punishment will be even harsher"

And so starting with Akechi they began the real torture of the two officers

"Hm...where to start, where to start, oh I know I think I'll start with your ability to walk"

And so while Kenmochi was forced to watch Akechi's feet were broken in several places. The place that the person began with was Akechi's toes where each individual toe was broken on each feet, slowly and painfully at that, then the bigger part of the feet were smashed several times each with a hammer. Once the feet were taken care of for Akechi Akechi was forced to watch the same thing happen to Kenmochi. And that began a pattern of each watching the other person being tortured whenever they were aware of what was happening. Once the feet were taken care of their legs were broken in two places each and then while Akechi's right shoulder was broken Kenmochi's left shoulder was broken, their lower arms also had a break each, and then just like the feet the hands were methodically broken one finger at a time and then the middle parts of their hands were also broken, but that wasn't the end of it for the two of them. The two were also burned using cigarettes and hot oil, Kenmochi's burns got infected and that's when Akechi allowed himself to be raped, but he was unaware of it since he wasn't doing the greatest at the time either because he had a few cuts which had gotten infected but what Akechi wasn't aware of was the fact that Kenmochi was beginning to develop pneumonia, he was also unaware of the broken ribs both of them had, the ribs had been broken deliberately a week before the two managed to escape a second time, during that time they were also whipped on their backs until they were bleeding and then whipped more. But finally they escaped, unfortunately their injuries meant that they weren't exactly the fastest and they were in pain from their injuries as well and as such they were cornered

"Akechi, what now?"

"Now...now you leave my side and find a way to police"

"But Akechi..."

"Go Kenmochi, I'll hold them off long enough to hopefully buy you enough time to make your escape"

"No I'm not leaving you"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice Kenmochi"

"Akechi, what..."

Suddenly Kenmochi is pushed into the Shing Mun and while he does his best to keep afloat and watch Akechi he sees Akechi actually keeping their captors back, but finally he also sees Akechi fall just as he's out of visual range and the way he fell it looked to Kenmochi that Akechi had been killed from behind, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Instead he was merely knocked unconscious and flown to England where the torture and enslavement would continue. Once in Britain whenever he wasn't working he was either being raped or his legs were broken multiple times a year in several places each time. He also unknowingly lost muscles in his legs at the same time people were raping him, what he _was_ aware of was not only the rapes and the broken legs, but the whipping also continued as did getting burns on a regular basis, his arms were also broken a couple of times as well as punishment but because he needed his arms to work properly they at least were always given basic care, his hands were never touched again though he did also get work injuries because of his torture injuries, though the broken jaw the one time was for disobeying an order

_Present _

"I was also left to fend for myself for days or even a week at a time, though I wonder if they had gotten a tip the last time I was left to fend for myself because this time there were no supplies to keep me alive for very long left unlike the other times, according to the doctors if I had arrived even an hour later I would have been beyond saving if only due to the severe dehydration"

"I see, I guess the rest will have to be seen on the recordings if the criminals are extradited here"

"Exactly"

(Sighs) "I think new plans might be made in regards to what physical therapy is done to keep you on the force since you literally have muscle tissue missing, and I guess it's more understandable now why you need the crutches just to walk past a certain distance"

"I guess so, and I understand if the ultimate decision is medical retirement due to my mobility restrictions"

"This is going to be a wait and see situation Akechi due to the fact that we might be able to come up with modifications that will work for both sides which will allow you to continue to work here"

"Understood"

"In the meantime you're going to have to find a new apartment and as such will have to find a place to stay temporarily, we're also going to do what we did with Kenmochi which is retroactively give you five and a half years worth of back pay and we'll also give you and advancement so that you actually _can_ find a place to stay until everything is cleared up regarding your pay and also your bank. You should know that Kindaichi put everything you and Kenmochi owned into storage so that's safe at the very least"

And so Akechi and his boss left the office and Akechi was officially introduced or reintroduced to the officers that were currently in the office, it was also explained that until they knew if modifications would work Akechi was not being forced into medical retirement


	16. Chapter 16

"Now then, it's going to take a little longer for him to be caught up, which you weren't authorized to do _Kindaichi_, but once that's done with he'll be taking up as many of his old duties again as possible"

"Kindaichi?"

"Hey, I didn't receive those orders Akechi, after all last I knew was that you were to be caught up by whoever met up with you again for the first time since you were abducted, I was unaware of any change in plans"

"Huh...now that I think about it you're right, we totally forgot to tell you about those change in plans while you were in Britain"

Eventually Akechi was done for the day and had also gotten his advanced payment, though he was still unsure of where he would stay the night and then Kindaichi spoke up

"Akechi, where are you going?"

"I guess taking a taxi and trying to find a hotel, I'll start looking at apartments tomorrow, though I guess I should have done so while in Britain"

"Actually, I want you to come with me and ossan"

"Oh?"

And so they all go to Kenmochi's car and they drive to a house which had two cars already in it, they then went inside

"Okay, where are we?"

"Welcome home Akechi"

"Huh?"

"I think I'd best explain it Kindaichi, Kenmochi"

Akechi is surprised to see Li there as well

"Li, what is going on?"

"As you probably know by now I come here to Japan on business on occasion, mainly regarding the case involving you and Kenmochi which has since been resolved and also regarding Takato Yoichi. When Kenmochi was first discovered to be alive it was naturally a shock to everyone and initially Kenmochi needed a lot of help and so Kindaichi volunteered his apartment to Kenmochi until he got back on his feet again. During that time it was decided that I would be going back and forth between Hong Kong and Japan more regularly so I had to find a place to stay whenever I was in Japan, Kindaichi here thought of the idea of simply buying a house that all three of us could stay in and so through them we all went house hunting seeing as how I wasn't here half the time the hunt went on. We ultimately decided on a five bedroom house, we ourselves don't know if it was because with Kenmochi alive Kindaichi and I had a sliver of hope that you would have survived what Kenmochi believed in your death or we simply wanted a place to remember you whenever it was needed and yet didn't want to go to your empty grave, especially since Kenmochi's grave was also still there despite his being alive. In any case we bought this place and set up a room for you and still have one bedroom that can be used for a guest at need, I know that we haven't given you much of an option regarding where you live but you have to admit that you need help and the three of us will feel better knowing that you're close by"

"Nightmares?"

All three of them nod and Li speaks up again

"I've woken both of them up more then once while in Hong Kong with a nightmare to assure myself that they're both alive and unharmed"

Kindaichi then speaks up

"With Li's leg issue and Kenmochi's own issues due to his injuries we deliberately bought a one level house and then made slight modifications so that everything is accessible even if the cane is needed or Kenmochi needs his own assistive devices"

"I was told my things were in storage Kindaichi"

"Most of your things _are_ still in storage, but when we bought this place we got a few of your things and set them up in the room that we chose for you, we put your bed back into storage since you know what you need for sleeping with your injuries"

"I see, by the way Li why didn't I see you in the office today?"

"Today's actually my day off, I was simply at the airport because Kindaichi needed a ride to work with his car currently having issues, it's actually being looked at today I believe"

"And he couldn't have ridden with Kenmochi because?"

"We have our reasons Akechi"

"Understood, by the way do our superiors know about these living arrangements?"

"Sort of, they know that the three of us live together due to paperwork stating our address but they don't know why it came to be considering Kenmochi has healed quite nicely and Li can technically afford a hotel while he's here"

"Do they know about me?"

"Not sure yet, but...well part of it is because it is your choice, though you have to admit that for a couple of months at least it would be good for you to live with us, even if you can live by yourself since you were taught in London we...we need to be with you for a bit"

"I will admit that it takes care of living arrangements quite nicely"

Akechi truly thinks things through and then sighs, but it was a sigh of relief and then looks at the group in amusement

"So...is it safe to assume you've already made arrangements with the storage people to pay off whatever is owed for the next month or the rest of the year depending on my answer?"

Over the next two days Akechi is moved completely into the house and they find a bed that Akechi could sleep in that was comfortable due to his injuries, and Akechi makes sure that his bosses know about his new permanent address which doesn't surprise them at all since they had gotten suspicious about that place when Li, Kindaichi and Kenmochi all had the same address on their personnel forms in regards to where they permanently lived, especially seeing as how Li went back and forth between Hong Kong and Japan and as such probably wouldn't have a permanent address or if he did it would be a tiny apartment that was sublet whenever he wasn't there (they were unaware that when the arrangement with Japan began his superiors in Hong Kong bought an entire apartment complex for all their officers so that if anything required their officers to travel on a semi-regular basis they had a place to return to at any time and that was where Li lived when he wasn't in Japan. It actually made it so much easier for Hong Kong officers to leave for up to a year training in another country since they didn't have to worry about finding a place when they got back home)

"So, you're living with Kindaichi and Kenmochi for now?"

"Actually that will be my new permanent residence"

"So we were right"

"Sir?"

"It's nothing, at least it's nothing to be concerned about for either side"

"If you say so sir"

"I do, now then, anything related to Takato Yoichi is Kindaichi's and Kenmochi's automatically, also Li's whenever he's in country, for now you are staying off that case since you can't defend yourself as well as you used to, other cases that you _might_ get involved with will be from the desk only at least for now, once we can figure out a way to get you back in the field we'll start trying to figure out if that will still work"

"Understood...I'll need to re-qualify with my weapon then soon"

"Yes, don't worry Akechi, we'll figure things out I promise"

What Akechi was unaware of was the fact that his doctors in Britain had been working with doctors in Japan to try and get Akechi off the crutches if at all possible, even if it was only for a few hours at a time it would be considered a success if he could have normal mobility again in his legs and they had finally designed a prototype device for him to test. It had taken so long because of the fact that there was the initial figuring out how to truly support his legs with the fact that they had been broken so many times that even the doctors had been unable to completely fix the leg issues that had developed and standard leg braces simply weren't going to cut it (they were good enough to get him to stand and walk short distances without crutches and longer distances with crutches but everyone could tell that the standard braces weren't enough support for police activity), when they had found out about the literally missing muscle tissue they modified the device to try and replicate the lost muscle if at all possible and strengthened the device as well and finally they knew that they were ready to test the device, and the fact that Akechi had mandatory physical therapy to continue his job until it was determined if he absolutely had to be medically retired or not meant that the device could be field tested as soon as Akechi was permitted back into the field and a week after his return to Japan Akechi was in his first mandatory physical therapy session


	17. Chapter 17

"Akechi, from what we know from your British doctors you took five months to get to the point where you are now"

"Yes, and according to the doctors there isn't much chance for any improvement, especially with the fact that I am literally missing muscle tissue"

"What you _don't_ know is that they and us here have been working on a prototype device that has since been modified for your specific needs. This prototype in it's original format would be for people with your assumed original needs of multiple improperly healed fractures that have since been healed under proper medical care but the damage has already been done, this _particular_ modification takes into the fact that you are missing muscle tissue and compensates for that. We're hoping that even if you can't wear the device all day you'll be able to regain at least a couple of hours of complete freedom from the crutches that you currently have to use to get around"

"Really?, you guys have really designed something that might give me more mobility?"

"That's what we're hoping for, of course this will still have to be field tested but we're hopeful that it will work since it is based off of normal leg braces"

And so Akechi is shown the device and is amazed at how easy it looked to be used. Since it was based off of braces already he knew how to put them on, the device looked like a normal brace except that the frame was extra thick so as to compensate for the broken bones, as for the specific modifications needed for Akechi who was missing muscle tissue the team basically added elastic bands that acted like muscle tissue, they also reinforced the middle section where the knee joint was and made it much more flexible than the average leg brace, the straps were adjustable so that the braces would be able to fit around any sized leg and there was also extra padding so as to protect the skin from chaffing since the team was well aware that Akechi would be wearing a suit over the braces and nothing else underneath, not even a tight layer of pants despite his doctors wishes so as to keep his legs warmer, though Akechi was beginning to rethink that idea. In any case Akechi was eager to try out the new braces and quickly adjusted them, within ten minutes he was walking on his own without his crutches around the entire room, by half an hour he was doing very light jogging on a treadmill and by the time his hour long appointment was over with he was almost at the point where he would have passed the standard physical for his job and no would would know about the braces

"Now then, these do still need to be field tested seeing as how field conditions are much different from here but, I would say that we bring your superiors over and have them give you the standard test and see if they approve of you being back in the field full time, and much sooner than expected too"

"I have a better idea, I'm supposed to head into the office seeing as how I was scheduled to come into work after this appointment, how about one of you comes with me, with one of you driving, and we initially act like everything is as it was before these new braces, I use crutches even though I don't need them, and then once we get to my section I hand over the crutches to you guys and walk straight to my boss's door surprising everyone there including two out of three housemates"

"Okay then, that's what we'll do, and we'll test driving another time"

And so fifteen minutes later and the trick was on, Akechi got to the police station where he worked and acted like nothing had really changed in the hour he had been in physical therapy since progress wasn't really expected so soon after resuming his physical therapy regime, in fact everyone thought that the first day was primary talking about any goals that the job had and then the goals that Akechi himself had with maybe a little work being done to see if he had lost any of his progress in the time between his last physical therapy appointment in Britain and the first appointment in Japan. Finally they reached his particular section and was met with a younger officer

"Akechi, there's a murder, we'll take pictures of the scene and then report back to you about the scene so that you might be able to help us figure out the criminal"

"What about Kindaichi or Kenmochi?"

"They're working another case right now, I'm surprised you didn't ask about Li"

"I already know that he's unavailable due to being on a flight back to Hong Kong by now. Now then shall we get going to the scene"

"Akechi, you can't go"

"Oh yes I can, as soon as I talk to the boss"

"But Akechi you..."

Akechi then shocks everyone, including his superior who had come out of their office for coffee by handing over his crutches to the person next to him and walking straight to where his boss was standing which was right in front of their office, then walking to his old desk and getting his weapon out and walking back to the front door of the department, all without any obvious need for his crutches via a severe limp or even any obvious pain in his facial expressions

"Someone will have to drive me of course but I do believe I have just demonstrated that I can work in the field"

"Akechi...how?"

"Later sir, if you'll clear me for field duty..."

Akechi's boss looked like they were obviously thinking about whether or not to let Akechi in the field for the first time since he and Kenmochi were abducted all those years ago, Akechi's boss also knew that Akechi would explain his ability to walk in private (though he was also sure that Akechi would be telling his housemates as well)

(Sighs) "I'm afraid I can't Akechi...only because of the fact that quite frankly you need to be re-certified for various things including that weapon you're holding and also the fact that...well I could actually legitimately use you in the office right now for something I will explain in private"

"Understood sir"

And so Akechi spent the next hour helping his boss deal with an internal investigation regarding a new department in seeing if it was as effective as it should be, during that time Akechi showed his boss the leg braces which were helping him to walk almost completely normally once more for the first time in a very, very long time

"You know, I think I might be able to pitch it to the government to let any injured officer the way you or anyone else was injured back onto duty within a few months if you made this much improvement in a day, granted you were already in physical therapy for several months before reaching this point but still..."

"I see, we still have to field test the braces but if they pass the tests, even for a few hours..."

That night Akechi did indeed tell Kindaichi and Kenmochi about his new braces and the fact that there was a very good chance of him getting back in the field because of the braces, as for Li Akechi would wait to tell Li for two more days primarily because of schedule issues (Li was in court the entire day for almost three days, and when Li wasn't in court he was at an active crime scene and couldn't be disturbed)


	18. Chapter 18

"That's...do you think the doctors could give me a similar one? I know I get around find most days but when there's bad weather I need a crutch to get around"

"I think you'd have to ask your doctors about that, plus it might not be available for a little while since it _does_ still need field tested, not to mention mine was specially modified for my specific needs"

"Well if I _can_ get a similar one I'll take it, Hong Kong is threatening to take me out of the field and put me behind a desk if we don't find something soon"

"How often will you be behind a desk?"

"Permanently, they're tired of me needing a pickup if it's bad weather or I overdo it and my leg locks up on me"

"I'll see what I can do then, by the way Kenmochi and Kindaichi might be coming over"

"Don't tell me"

"Yeah, same trick as last time when you chased Kindaichi as a hypnotized murderer"

"You're just lucky Kariya believed your heart was on the right side of the body and stabbed you in the right chest instead of the left"

"How is he anyways?"

"Model prisoner with a few more months in his sentence"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the judge has given him time off not only because of his circumstances but also...well let's just say that several officers wouldn't be alive today if not for Kariya"

"I see, in any case you have advanced warning at the very least"

"Agreed, and once things are taken care of here I will be coming back to Japan"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, unfortunately I can't get into the details as to what is bringing me to Japan this time around"

"Understood, see you hopefully soon then"

A week later and the new braces were given their first official field test, and while things didn't go perfectly smoothly, it went smoothly enough for Akechi's boss to say that Akechi would be back in the field nearly full time once more

"There are going to be instances where you are _not_ allowed in the field, and there's also the fact that depending on how other things go you might be pulled out of the field temporarily or only allowed in the field part time, oh and one more thing"

"Sir?"

"You're going to be going to Hong Kong to meet up with Kindaichi, Kenmochi and Li, your physical therapist said that they want you to stop by the office first though for some reason"

And so Akechi (who was now cleared to drive) went to the office of his physical therapist and was given a very special gift to give Li once Akechi was in Hong Kong. Once at the airport it took a little bit for Akechi to pass through security because of his leg braces (he was also required to bring his crutches due to the fact that there was the chance that he would be forced to switch to his other braces for various reasons such as skin chaffing or if something failed with the leg braces that gave him back his mobility) but finally he was on his way to Hong Kong. Three and a half hours later and he was landing in Hong Kong, now then seeing as how he deliberately didn't tell any of the group that he was headed over he rented a car and went to the police station that he knew Li worked out of and one of Li's coworkers speaks up, granted it was in Chinese, but since Akechi knew that Hong Kong had two official languages and one of them was English he would have no trouble communicating with them

"_Who are you and what is your business here?_"

"**I do not know Chinese, I am from Japan but I do speak English. As for who I am and my business I am Superintendent Kengo Akechi and am here to see Detectives Li, and Kindaichi and also Inspector Kenmochi. Detective Li is from Hong Kong while Detective Kindaichi and Inspector Kenmochi are both from Japan like I am**"

"_Someone call Detective Li and ask him if he knows a Superintendent Kengo Akechi, also ask him if he's with Detective Kindaichi and Inspector Kenmochi_"

Two minutes later and the phone is handed to him and he speaks automatically in English since he is unsure of who was on the line

"**Hello?**"

"Akechi it's Li, what are you doing here in Hong Kong and why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"Li I was asked to help you three for reasons unknown to me, all I know is that the boss said I was coming here to meet up with you guys, oh and I also have something specifically for _you_ from my physical therapist, something that I think you'll like a lot, as for why I didn't tell you guys I was coming even though you would have had three hours notice if I had called I wasn't sure if you guys were doing something important in the field and didn't want to interrupt you so when I got here and passed through security I rented a car and am currently at the station you mentioned you work at for the most part"

"Okay, Kindaichi and Kenmochi are with me, we'll get back to the station soon so that we can try and figure out why you were sent here with no clear instructions other than apparently to give me something from your physical therapist"

"Okay, see you when you get here, in the meantime though could you possibly let the officers here know that I'm not a threat and possibly give me access to your Takato files, I'll see if I can't think of anything new from here considering I've been off the hunt for several years"

"Okay, when we get back we'll talk about Takato, but for now...I think I can use your unique perspective regarding a fugitive of ours who has contacts in various countries including Japan and United States"

"Okay I'll look at the file then if you tell the officers I have permission"

"Wait I thought you wanted to look at the Takato files"

"Takato is a long term fugitive, the one your asking for help isn't as dangerous possibly but at the same time if you're correct on the connections they could be just as hard to capture, and with the Takato pattern changing he might actually be easier to catch then before depending on his moves"

"Understood, I'll make sure that you have access"

And so ten minutes later and Akechi is looking at the files Li had regarding his fugitive and quickly discovers that it was a very frustrating case because of all the contacts both in Japan and the United States, he also found out that the fugitive had contacts in Canada, Australia, Poland, and Ethiopia which made it that much harder to find the person and as such while he did what he could to get in contact with his American contacts (who were still widely unaware of his status as being alive but at the same time considered dead by the majority of the world since there _were_ still pockets of the slave group active) he also turned his attention towards the Takato Yoichi case. An hour later and Kindaichi, Kenmochi and Li were back and Akechi had been yelled at several times from various associates in the US claiming that he was an impostor since Kengo Akechi had died five and a half years earlier. Once they were back Li got a report from one of his officers and then took one look at Akechi's face and knew that he had hit a roadblock some where's


	19. Chapter 19

"Okay, what happened?"

"Until I can prove my identity my American contacts think me an impostor and I highly doubt it will go very well with you guys either trying to contact them"

"I see, so what exactly do you have for me from your physical therapist...and where are your crutches?"

"Say Akechi he's right, where _are_ your crutches anyways?"

"For the moment I don't actually need them so they're tucked away, and Li you might not need a crutch anymore depending on how well this works for you"

"How well _what_ works for me?"

And so Akechi brings out the leg brace specifically brought over for Li

"It might need some adjustments but if it works you will no longer need a crutch on bad weather days or if you overwork your leg. I myself have specially designed leg braces on right now that compensate for my lack of muscle tissue and give me back my old mobility I thought you were told about them already"

"Oh yeah, you did tell and show us the braces, I guess we simply thought that you would be working on using them for longer periods of time still and would be in the old braces and using crutches to walk"

"I see, in any case here Li"

And so Akechi shows Li the brace he had brought for him and it _did_ need a few minor adjustments but soon he was walking around and from his facial expression it was obvious that there was something different even if he only used the other brace very occasionally

"I will have to test it when I actually need it but...it looks like this might just keep me in the field, so about _your_ braces what's the verdict?"

"Almost full field duty clearance, there are certain things that still need to be tested but that will be done in Japan unless we come across that situation here in Hong Kong and I can drive myself again as well, though to be honest I think I might need to switch to the old braces temporarily soon"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's nothing major but my physical therapist said something about sending the braces off to other companies to try and figure out if there's other material that would work just as well but lighter and cheaper, but that isn't definite yet and when that happens I'll be back to being desk bound except for specific situations"

"Does the boss know about this yet?"

"Physical therapist stated that when they know the boss will be informed so that my duties are temporarily modified"

"Speaking of bosses we still need to find out why you were sent here in the first place, and then we need to tell your contacts in the US that it really _is_ you"

Ultimately it was discovered that Akechi was there because of the fact that it had been decided that Japanese police and Hong Kong police would do some specialized training together and seeing as how two out of three Japanese police officers on the list were already there the third member of the team would be sent over with the brace for Li since Li was also going to be part of the training

"Li, I think that even though you don't necessarily need the brace right now you should get used to it before it's absolutely needed"

"I agree with you on that one, how are your braces anyways?"

"So far no issues, but if I have to test them I have to test them and we'll see what happens then"

"By the way, just how do they work anyways?"

"Gives me support and replaces the muscle tissue I lost in a way that I don't understand"

"Got it"

The next day would be one of the tests that were originally planned for when Akechi was in Japan because he saw people in trouble in the water and didn't even think twice about the fact that his braces hadn't really been water tested yet and got them out with the help of others, two hours later and they got their answer about if the braces would continue to function properly after a short or long term soaking

(Sighs) "I'm going to be practically useless the rest of the training unless it doesn't involve a lot of movement, at least for today, when we get back I need my other braces and my crutches"

"Don't tell me"

"Yep these braces hate water, the material being used as replacement muscle tissue is breaking down, I'm going to have to tell my physical therapist about this ASAP"

"In the meantime do you think you _can_ make it back to the station?"

Akechi takes two more steps and realizes that unless he was being carried he was stuck

"No, I can't, not without being carried"

"I'll call the station and have one of my subordinates bring the braces and crutches to our location, are the braces in a case labeled with your name on it?"

"As are the crutches, actually the crutches and braces are in the same case so they might as well bring the entire case here"

And so Li calls the station and fifteen minutes later the case arrives and Akechi changes into his old braces and gets into the car having his useless braces in the case

"Li, can you let your superiors know about the situation, though admittedly it's going to be pretty obvious when I come in walking using crutches instead of when I first arrived"

"I can explain don't worry, by the way have you gotten in contact with your American contacts again?"

"They're not answering their phones I might need either Interpol intervention or Scotland Yard intervention I don't know yet"

"Haven't decided who to go with or do you literally not know if you need intervention from one of those two organizations?"

"Combination of both actually, in any case we're near the station and they're about to get a shock"

And so most of the officers at the station were indeed shocked when they saw Akechi coming n walking with the use of crutches, they could also tell that he was _very_ used to using the crutches

"_Li what is Akechi doing as an officer if there are times when he needs crutches just to walk?_"

"_His other braces have broken down, he's regained the ability to walk after enduring over five years of torture and permanent damage to his legs, and he says that even he isn't fully aware of the extent of the damage since the judge in Britain refuses to tell him anything, as do his physical therapist and anyone associated with making his specialized braces_"

"_I see, I guess part of it is surprise due to the fact that he walked in here without any assistive devices that we were aware of_"

"_Exactly though...I'm surprised his name didn't cause more of a stir than a simple phone call at his request and a few mutterings that I heard when I got back and those mutterings were more along the lines of wondering what another Japanese police officer was doing here_"

"_Why would his name cause such a huge stir?_"

"_Two separate incidents sir, the first incident regards the Count of Monte Cristo where he announced his death in the newspapers to deliberately give Kindaichi a coded message, the second stir is a more recent stir, he's one of the two officers presumed dead five and a half years ago in a supposed car crash but instead he and his fellow officer were taken prisoner and turned into slaves, he only escaped half a year ago almost_"

"_Wait, he's _that _Kengo Akechi, the one who was supposedly killed with Isamu Kenmochi though Isamu Kenmochi was then found here in Hong Kong about two and a half years ago?_"

"_Yes sir he's_ that_ Akechi Kengo, and I am using the Japanese format for his name, his American associates actually don't believe it's him at the moment and he's debating on how to prove his identity to them_"

Once the private conversation was over with Akechi, Kenmochi and Kindaichi noticed an increase in small chatter and mutters amongst the Hong Kong police officers and all in Chinese as well which meant that Akechi and Kindaichi had no hope of following the conversation and then Li yelled something in Chinese and looked directly at Akechi

"I'm sorry Akechi, if I had known that they hadn't realized exactly who you were I would have gotten this over with the first day you were here when I got back to the station"

"Gotten what over with?"

"Well, besides the fact that you survived the Count of Monte Cristo through some sheer dumb luck there's also the fact that you're alive after having been declared dead about five and a half years ago and considering the situation regarding your grave in Japan and the fact that the news hasn't really been spread around the world via newspaper and even local police might not know about your survival..."

"I just became gossip material didn't I?"

"I stopped that cold just now but...expect questions regarding your survival just like Kenmochi had been questioned"

"Understood...in English though since I don't speak Chinese"

"Better than me having to translate everything for Kenmochi"

"Wait, I thought Kindaichi would have translated"

"Um..."

"Never mind I don't think I want to know"

"Yeah...you probably don't actually all things considered"

That night a monsoon would roll in and everyone was stuck at the station, and the Hong Kong police would learn two _very_ important lessons, lessons that should have been learned with Kenmochi but unfortunately weren't, lesson number one was that you _never_ woke Akechi up from a nightmare because he tended to sleep with his gun either underneath a pillow or right next to him and his reflexes were excellent (due to his knowing about that habit Akechi had deliberately gotten a modified gun with a specialized safety on it that would prevent him from accidentally switching it off) and lesson number two was that you never just come up and touch him unexpectedly, again because of those reflexes, though if he was awake you would either be getting up off the floor from a throw or being released from a standard police grasp where your arm is forced behind your back in a solid grip. The lesson about being snuck up on essentially was the first lesson learned because he had been distracted by something that the officer wasn't sure about but the officer also knew that Akechi needed to eat and so went up to Akechi and tapped him lightly on the shoulder and got put into the grab, but when he realized who he was grabbing he apologized immediately and let go


	20. Chapter 20

"**I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab you, I guess I forgot to warn you not to touch me without me knowing that you're about to do so, I guess I also assumed that you already knew about that thanks to Inspector Kenmochi**"

"**I'm sorry Superintendent Akechi I should have warned you that for the most part they haven't been around Inspector Kenmochi when he's having bad days and they also weren't really around him during his early healing days either**"

"**I see**"

The sleeping lesson was learned when later that night when he had gone to sleep he had a nightmare regarding his time as a slave and being tortured and one of the officers woke him up and was instead faced with a gun, now then this time this was completely on them because of the fact that they forgot to assume that he would react that ways since not all officers who suffered from something horrific did

"**Okay, either you didn't learn the lesson of waking up officers from nightmares or you forgot and simply assumed I wouldn't react violently**"

"**I forgot and assumed you wouldn't react violently**"

(Sighs) "**I'm just glad I modified my gun safety for instances such as this**"

Li then speaks up

"**Agreed, though I guess either you or I should have also warned them not to wake you up from a nightmare**"

"**True enough, I made an assumption and so did you I guess**"

They went back to sleep and then the next day Akechi received a text from the boss

*Akechi, you, Kenmochi and Kindaichi need to follow up on a potential Takato lead in Hong Kong once things clear up a little after that monsoon*

Akechi groans out loud and when everyone looked at him all he did was hold up his phone and everyone understood that he must have received an e-mail or a text that aggravated him and then he spoke up in Japanese

"Kindaichi, Kenmochi, and depending on if you have the chance Li, we have a Takato lead to follow up here apparently"

"Really?, he really popped up here after a monsoon?"

"No idea, boss simply said he wanted us to check it out after things clear up a little after the monsoon we just had"

"You know, that guy is getting super annoying, between his pattern change where he actually goes after us himself whenever he has the opportunity, the fact that we sometimes don't even catch him and his overall method of killing I am getting _really_ tired of not having him behind bars"

"We'll get him, some day, some how we'll get him"

"In the meantime we've got work and investigating to do...Akechi how do you want to do things considering the fact that you don't have your special braces right now?"

"We'll figure it out as we go"

And so the investigation in regards to finding and catching Takato Yoichi continued. It would take another fifteen years before he was finally captured and by then Akechi and Kenmochi had retired and been killed in the line of duty respectively with Kenmochi being retired and Akechi having been the one who died in the line of duty. Kindaichi by that point had reached the highest point in his career and was pretty much desk bound and doing paperwork constantly. During those fifteen years Akechi had eventually asked Interpol to tell his American friends that he was actually alive, that took place two weeks after he, Kindaichi, and Kenmochi returned to Japan, and Akechi and Kindaichi also gained a closer relationship with Interpol during that time as well. Akechi's special braces were modified several times and spread around the world in the twelve years before his actual death in the line of duty, with Akechi being the main guinea pig for each modification. As for the group that Kenmochi and Akechi had to hide from by having their graves still around despite them being alive, the last of the group were captured five years after the majority had been sentenced in Japan and Hong Kong respectively and while most were sent back to Britain to serve out life sentences four were given the death penalty, two in Hong Kong and two in Japan and those sentences were carried out swiftly, as for the remaining members they were sentenced to life sentences in Britain while Japan and Hong Kong deferred to Britain for punishment primarily due to the fact that most of the group were much older by then. After Takato was captured and put in prison Kindaichi would continue being an officer for another five years before retiring himself and by that time Kenmochi had died from an aggressive form of lung cancer, during that time both of them finally got some answers from Takato regarding why he had been blocking Kindaichi from investigating Akechi's and Kenmochi's supposed murder, Takato had done it not only because he knew not getting answers would aggravate Kindaichi, but also as a means of protecting him as well since Takato had a feeling the one's behind the officer's apparent deaths were _dangerous_ and he wanted to continue the game between himself and Kindaichi for as long as he could, they also found out that was as far as he got in regards to his involvement in their apparent deaths, he didn't plan anything and didn't participate in any plans to kill the two officers. As for Kindaichi and Miyuki they had gotten married a year after Akechi was back full time in the field except in certain circumstances, and naturally Akechi, Kenmochi and Li were there and were considered honorary uncles to their two kids. As for Li, he too would die in the line of duty only six months after Akechi had been killed, but during his time before that he helped Japan several times and actually finally managed to have Kindaichi able to bring his weapon to Hong Kong just like he could bring his weapon to Japan by having the Hong Kong government make a special agreement with the Japanese government allowing Hong Kong officers to legally have their guns in Japan whenever they were there and Japanese officers legally allowed to have their guns whenever they were in Hong Kong. Admittedly this was partially because two years after Hong Kong found out about Akechi it was being noticed that more Japanese officers had business in Hong Kong and vice versa so it made sense to have such an agreement between the two governments, and because of those circumstances Kindaichi couldn't argue with Li anymore regarding the uneven playing field between the two of them


End file.
